Postoccupancy Energy Consumption Survey of Arizona’s LEED New Construction Population

Abstract

Existing literature has not provided conclusive performance results for green building energy efficiency. Existing studies produced debated conclusions and failed to represent a geographic concentration of structures from hot and dry climates. This technical paper examines 47% of Arizona’s 53 building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED NC) building population in an effort to determine if Arizona’s LEED NC buildings achieve expected energy performance, how they compare with the existing building population and whether either system or managerial variables demonstrate efficiency correlations. Data collection efforts were successful for all desired deliverables. Analysis of the LEED NC sample returned mixed results. On average, Arizona’s LEED NC medium energy intense (MEI) buildings performed better than the national average yet worse than buildings located in similar climates. Certain LEED NC MEI building types did demonstrate greater efficiencies than the corresponding Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey population. Arizona’s high energy intense (HEI) structures performed considerably lower than national and similar climate averages. The LEED NC sample also underperformed both the design and baseline energy use simulations. Energy consumption correlation analysis returned very few statistically significant results. The study’s results demonstrate to industry practitioners and researchers that the LEED NC rating system’s energy strategies fail to meet modeled efficiencies, thereby highlighting a need for ongoing scrutiny and diligence when measuring sustainability and efficiency within Arizona’s built environment.