25% of LEED certified green building perform less efficiently than they were designed to. Three factors may be at play: design issues, constructability, and building operations.

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A recent article in the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce by Mark Winder brought up an interesting point about green buildings: sometimes they aren’t as efficient as they were meant to be.  Winder cites a 2008 study by the New Buildings Institute regarding the energy use of LEED certified buildings.  The report says that while most of the certified buildings were performing as expected or better, a full 25% were not as efficient as originally designed.  I know this is a hot topic, as many conversations are taking place regarding “greenwashing” (presenting products as green when they may not be) and the added cost of going green.

In my opinion there are (at least) three factors driving this trend of non-efficiency in green buildings: design issues, constructability, and building operations.  My intention here is not to assign blame, but give my impression of what I see happening on projects.

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Evidence of new buildings featuring an innovative and cost-effective roof can now be seen in a growing number of African nations, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Sudan, as part of a Roofs for the World initiative.

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