We had to use the Case 2 calculator because our building was too small to qualify for an Energy Star rating. Can anyone tell me why using the LEED Case 2 calculator yields us 33 percentile points above the national average (good for 12 EAc1 points) when our statement of energy performance from Energy Star for the same usage period shows our comparison Source EUI performance as -40% (40% better than the National Median Source EUI)?
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Peter Keithly
PrincipalTEAM Commissioning Associates
3 thumbs up
May 1, 2012 - 11:09 am
To look at it from another perspective, consider if our building had been 4,999 square feet. We would still not be able to use the Energy Star rating system because we were under 5,000 square feet. Yet if we added only 1 square foot and changed nothing else, we would suddenly qualify for 3 additional points under EAc1. Yet we did not become more energy efficient, we only became a tiny (insignificant) bit larger. That does not seem fair to me. The Case 2 calculator should yield the same number of points as the Energy Star rating system when every other building operational and performance parameter remains the same.
My point remains this: Use of the Case 2 calculator versus the Energy Star rating system clearly can result in significantly different EAc1 points when everything else is held constant. In my opinion, that is not fair.
Any comments on this?
Alexa Stone
ecoPreserve: Building Sustainability134 thumbs up
May 8, 2012 - 8:06 pm
Couldn't agree more Peter! USGBC and EnergyStar do not see eye to eye on this credit/prerequisite and this is just ONE of the reasons why. Although the offline calculator is based on the data that Energy Star provides it still does not compare exactly. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about the size of your building or the way that its benchmarked. The best thing to do is stick with the scenarios that gives you a better assessment and be sure to "have your ducks in a row" in case you get feedback from the reviewer.