Green-approved buildings using more energy

[MetsFan]

The one we built had a dual (separate) AC system for when the outside temp was. 70-80 it would generate air conditioning from cooler outside air... And in Georgia that's maybe 3 weeks? Total waste of money IMO....

I was just building it, didn't design the "thang"

Do you know why they used a separate system? You can pretty much do that with any air handling unit with an economizer cycle.

 

[Road Guy]

No, I was just building it.. But the contractor proposed to eliminate it and I had agreed until the architect( who wasn't that involved in the construction) flipped out and complained to my boss that we wouldn't get leed points...

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I think you get extra points for having an extra high efficiency unit (even if you use it three weks max), but YMZ probably knows more about it.

It is kinda like designing cars for the spec sheet junkies. Adds expense for the sole purpose of bragging rights.

 

[goodal]

I was the LEED coordinator on a Silver project. It was only second to preparing for the PE in difficulty. It did end up getting the certification, but the road to get that pretty little plaque was paved with an extraordinary amount of paperwork and man-hours. IMHO, You don't need a pretty plaque to have an energy efficient building.