1/7/09 6:52 PM by Anindita Mitra

This seems to be an useful program as long as both existing and new buildings were required to participate. Also, the program works only if industry benchmark(s) are established for each building type. It would be important to report these benchmarks to influence overall building performance. If these benchmarks were not static, but somehow an aggregate average of overall industry performance, it could provide industry incentive to continuously improve and lower their energy use (in design and use). Therefore with every new efficient building, we would be actually lowering the building type benchmark, thereby increasing the threshold for existing buildings to lower their performance. Hopefully t his continuous monitoring/disclosure implies a more reasonable schedule such as an annual or seasonal report versus monthly or daily report.

12/31/08 9:11 AM by Duane Jonlin

Energy use disclosure should be required for all building types at the time of sale or lease, based on utility data. This information should be provided as a total-dollar amount and also on a basis of energy use intensity per square foot, with local average usage for comparison. This "energy use sticker" would certainly be a big selling point, and could inspire more property owners to upgrade their systems and monitor ongoing energy use. There is no compelling reason for this energy use data to be concealed from public view. It would be extremely difficult to separate occupant-controlled energy use from building performance in existing buildings. However, new or substantially remodeled buildings could more easily provide separate metering, and this could be detailed in the energy use disclosure form.

12/30/08 7:43 PM by Dr. Arun Jhaveri

It is proposed that the City of Seattle adopt an Existing Green Buildings Policy that strongly recommends the following "2% per year Reduction" requirements for both Residential and Non-Residential City Building Stock : 1. 2% per year reduction in energy consumption, in btus/sq.ft. 2. 2% per year reduction in water conservation, in gallons 3. 2% per year reduction in fossil fuel consumption, to be replaced by 2% per year renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, and/or geothermal 4. 2% per year reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions/Climate Change, in equivalent tons of CO2, consistent with the 20% City reduction goal by 2020 5. Continuous 2% reduction/improvement in the Operations and Maintenance of the Existing Buildings via Best Practices, Case Studies, and Benchmarks

12/16/08 8:11 PM by Dr. Arun Jhaveri

Energy Efficiency Improvements in all types of Existing Buildings, must be based on Successful Case Studies, Best Practices, and Benchmarking techniques of Quantifiable Performance and Results. Therefore, it is critical that Continuous Building Energy Savings be based on No-Cost, Low-Cost Operations & Maintenance Performance Measures that are technically verified periodically by experts such as City-sponsored Utility and Consultants

12/15/08 1:20 PM by Jennifer Lail - DPD Green Building

KEY QUESTIONS: ? Is monitoring and disclosure a priority for all buildings sectors (SF, MF & Non-Res)? ? Should expectations for performance disclosure be different for newly completed vs. existing buildings? ? What is the most appropriate tool/standard for measuring performance (in each sector)? ? Who should have access to monitoring data & how should information be disclosed? ? Should monitoring focus on occupant behavior or building performance (or both)?

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