Energy-Efficiency Standards and Green Building Certification Systems Used by the Department of Defense for Military Construction and Major Renovations (2013) / Chapter Skim
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-accredited standards. DOD's report to the congressional defense committees must also include a copy of DOD policy prescribing a comprehensive strategy for the pursuit of design and building standards across the department that include specific energy-efficiency standards and sustainable design attributes for military construction based on the cost-benefit analysis, return on investment, and demonstrated payback required for the aforementioned building standards and green building certification systems.
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For purposes of clarity, the committee notes that the consultant was hired directly by DOD under a separate contract and the consultant's report is contained in its entirety in Appendix C The DOD consultant's report developed an analytical approach that included a traditional benefit-cost analysis to calculate long-term benefits and costs, adjusted rate of return on investment, and payback of ASHRAE Standards 90.1-2010 and 189.1-2011 and of the LEED and Green Globes green building certification systems; sensitivity analyses using a range of scenarios that represented uncertainty in future conditions; and a test of the analytical approach using data from DOD buildings to identify issues that might arise if the approach were to be applied in the DOD operating environment.
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Building standards and green building certification systems have been developed by nonprofit organizations to provide a framework for the design and operation of high-performance and green buildings. Building standards typically establish minimum requirements for the design of one aspect of a building's performance (for example, energy)
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Studies related to LEED-certified buildings typically include buildings constructed under different versions of LEED that meet a range of certification levels, so even these have great variability. All of those factors and the incorporation by reference of building standards such as ASHRAE 90.1 into green building certification systems create confounding factors for research studies, which hinder the attribution of specific benefits and costs to specific standards or certification systems.
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Although the committee identified a number of robust, timely studies related to the market value, rental rates, vacancy rates, and appraised value of green buildings compared to conventional buildings, the committee did not evaluate those studies in detail because market factors typically are not relevant to the DOD operating environment. Based on those criteria, the committee identified 25 studies that served as the basis for its findings.
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The studies indicated that the additional first costs for high-performance or green buildings would typically range from 0 to 8 percent higher than the costs to design and construct conventional buildings, although the costs ranged up to 18 percent higher in a few instances. The study with the largest sample size indicated that, on average, the incremental first costs of green buildings were within 2 percent of the costs of conventional buildings, Over the life cycle of a building, design and construction costs typically range from 5 to 10 percent of total costs, while operations and maintenance costs account for 60 to 80 percent of total costs.
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The research studies speculated about reasons why this was so, but they did not provide sufficient evidence to draw generalizations regarding why some high-performance or green buildings significantly outperformed conventional buildings and why others did not, although building type was clearly a factor. Finding 7: In general, the quantities of energy and water used by a building once it is in operation are greater than the quantities of energy and water predicted by building design models, if these models are specifically created for compliance with LEED, Green Globes, or ASHRAE standards.
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High-performance or green buildings incorporate new building design processes, new technologies, and new materials. Effective operation of high-performance buildings requires well-trained facilities managers who understand the interrelationships among building technologies, occupant behavior, and overall building performance, as recognized through the enactment of the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010.
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The preponderance of available evidence indicates that green building certification systems and their referenced building standards offer frameworks for reducing energy and water use in buildings, compared to design approaches and practices used for conventional buildings. They may also result in improved indoor environmental quality, improved worker productivity, and lower operations and maintenance costs, although the evidence is very limited.
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Building models can be improved over time such that predicted results are more closely aligned with actual results, as detailed in Chapter 5. As DOD's buildings are metered, DOD should gather data on the use of energy, water, and wastewater to establish baselines for conventional buildings and to determine how well high-performance or green buildings are performing in comparison to baselines and in comparison to predictions associated with design models.
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Implementation of the Federal Building Personnel Training Act of 2010 should help to ensure that DOD facilities managers are certified in the required competencies and skills.
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