The construction industry could use a better contextual baseline than codes for measuring building efficiency against design strategy, says the executive vice president of James Construction, based in Carnegie, Penn.
Craig Stevenson, in a Construction Dive article, says a system such as Energy Star’s Energy Use Intensity (EUI) would provide a better way to measure efficiency and provide a better market-driven approach to sustainability. According to the Energy Star web site, “EUI is expressed as energy per square foot per year. It’s calculated by dividing the total energy consumed by the building in one year (measured in kBtu or GJ) by the total gross floor area of the building.”
EUI would create a common standard analogous to the miles-per-gallon standard in the automobile industry, Stevenson told Construction Dive. Codes can be too slow to catch up to the latest technology and techniques, he added.
Standards such as LEED may not go far enough to account for operations efficiency after a building is completed, he says. EUI, on the other hand, is measurable every year and provides a benchmark for the entire building and all energy-consuming systems.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jan 10, 2019
Ontario building first to achieve zero-carbon designation by Canada GBC
Geothermal heating, living wall among notable features.
Codes and Standards | Jan 9, 2019
Policymakers need to act to alleviate affordable housing crunch
Moody’s economist says costs including mortgage rates worsening situation.
Codes and Standards | Jan 8, 2019
Pittsburgh launches task force on construction industry fraud
Focus will be on wage violations.
Codes and Standards | Jan 7, 2019
Program uses low-cost sensors to monitor impact of stormwater mitigation systems
University/municipal partnership in Philadelphia aims to improve green infrastructure design.
Codes and Standards | Jan 7, 2019
Washington, D.C., to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2032
Includes measures to reduce emissions from buildings and transportation.
Codes and Standards | Jan 4, 2019
Canada’s National Building Code will include climate change obligations
New durability requirements for new buildings in the works.
Codes and Standards | Jan 4, 2019
LEED v4.1 beta registration begins in January
First releases are O+M, BD+C, and ID+C.
Codes and Standards | Jan 3, 2019
U.S. Appeals Court says general contractors can be cited for subcontractor violations
Ruling will prompt review of OSH decision that said GCs cannot be held liable for subs’ violations.
Codes and Standards | Jan 3, 2019
Tall mass timber code changes receive final approval
New provisions to be included in the 2021 International Building Code.
Codes and Standards | Jan 2, 2019
ASHRAE’s Low-Rise Residential Buildings standard update now available
Performance measures are at least 50% more efficient than 2006 IECC.
