Now comparing

This week, I began collecting new information in hopes of comparing the LEED certified buildings to non-LEED.  As soon as I started, I realized I was going to have a few problems…to be able to see if LEED is actually more sustainable than non-LEED, I need two buildings, one LEED-certified, and one non, and I also need the measurements and data from both of those buildings to show the annual energy and water use. Problem one was that there aren’t two buildings that are as similar as I would like on campus. The buildings should be close in area/square footage, have the same number of stories and have similar uses. For example, I can’t compare a LEED science lab building to a residence hall, but I can compare conference space to office space because they have similar uses. So to overcome this I am going to compare 4 sets of 2 buildings, each set will be buildings with a specific characteristic in common, and each set will have different areas of focus, so in the end I will be able to take the data from each set as if they were of the same building.  Problem two, was that of the buildings I could possibly compare, NAU didn’t measure or monitor the energy and water used in the non-LEED building, just because there was never a need to accurately measure that annually. So to get around this problem I hope to get my hands on the energy bill of each building and be able to calculate how much energy and water it used. While I wait for information on the energy bills, I have been comparing the materials and the building methods of general LEED and non-LEED buildings. Which is pretty easy considering the LEED buildings are based on a point system. For example, here in flagstaff most of the LEED buildings have a majority of their windows facing the South side so the heat of the sun can warm the building so they don’t have to use excess energy. It is just a bunch of little things similar to this that make a building “more sustainable” overall.