Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide First Edition

THINK ABOUT IT
The future of the built environment. Conventional building practices
are not sustainable. They use too much energy, create too much waste, and
sometimes even undermine the health and comfort of occupants. Conventional
patterns of energy use, waste, and pollution do not support widely accepted
goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and public health. Recognizing
the problem, however, is only the first step toward a solution. What might the
built environment of 2030 look like How can we break from the status quo and
ach-ieve results at scale
Primary Resources: Energy Usage in Buildings
Buildings are exceptionally
costly investments. Thei r
owners must have access
to large amounts of capital
and sufficient revenue to
meet operations and maintenance
costs. The design,
construction, and operation
of buildings also have
social , economic, and environmenta
l consequences
for occupants and society.
Since 1979, the U.S. Department
of Energy's Energy
Information Administration
(EIA) has collected data on
both commercial and residential
buildings through
its energy consumption
surveys, which provide period
ic national assessments.
• 9% - Other, 478 trillion Btu
• 1 % - Office EQuipment, 64 trillion Blu
• 3% - Persona l Computers. 148 trillion Blu
3% - Cooking, 1671nlhon Blu
3% - Refrigeration, 354 trillion Btu
• 7% - Ventilation, 384 trillion Btu
• 7% - Cooling, 431 \lillion Blu
.8% Water Heating, 448 trillion Btu
• 20% - Lghhng. 1,143 trillion Btu
38% - Space Healln!'!. 2.203 trillion Btu
Total Consumption, 5,820 trillion Btu
Figuf1! 1. O,w,bul,on of BUilding Energy
Use (SOurCi!: U.S. OOE. Energy Information
Admims(Jatlon)
Green Building 5