Operational Performance of Sustainable Measures in Public Buildings

Abstract

AbstractBuildings in the United States account for 40% of the national annual energy consumption, 39% of carbon footprint, and 13% of water consumption. To minimize these negative environmental impacts and improve life-cycle cost performance, an increasing number of public and private owners are requiring that their existing and new buildings incorporate more sustainable building measures. Despite the recent increase in the use of these sustainable building measures, there is a pressing need to explore their actual operational performance. This paper presents the findings of a recent study that evaluated the performance of sustainable measures in public buildings, such as rest areas, including energy efficient fluorescent and LED lights, solar photovoltaic systems and water heaters, daylight tubes, geothermal heat pumps, wind power technology, motion-activated lighting, double-pane glass, energy-efficient hand dryers, water-conserving fixtures, rain gardens, and graywater systems. The study conducted a co...