[Greenbuilding] energy savings myths

[Lisa & Paul Brown]

I've been in the habit of using the EPA's Portfolio Manager to evaluate the energy efficiency of buildings. It spits back results in terms of kbtu/SF for both source and site energy use intensity. Plus it does a weather normalization so you can compare properties from one location to another.  It is easy enough to use and easy to update as utility bills come in. It is geared to commercial buildings, but for strictly looking at EIU numbers and tracking efficiency upgrades over time, I like it. 



Paul D. Brown
LEED AP
COMPASS LLC

(616) 780-0163
paul at compass-llc.net




On Nov 17, 2011, at 5:54 PM, Reuben Deumling wrote:

> I've learned some things from Corwyn (here) over the years, and he (perhaps he can correct me if I am misremembering) advocates focusing on the house rather than a person or a square foot. I think the reasoning is that the other, though they provide some obvious quantitative precision, are also ways for large houses to look good/better than an absolute metric would have them look. In the final analysis we are interested in the total/absolute anyway, no? 
> 
> On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 2:27 PM, Michael O'Brien <obrien at hevanet.com> wrote:
> Hi, Reuben and Gennaro--
> 
> Your conversation points up the need for some practical yardsticks that we can use to compare houses.
> 
> I've used annual energy per square foot and annual energy per occupant, because they are easy to calculate and for people to understand, though they have the same flaws John already pointed out.
> 
> Any better ideas?
> 
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