While we’ve been talking about how cost-saving green architecture can be for some time now, a new nationwide government report has actually documented some impressive statistics that make it official. The Government Services Administration (GSA) commissioned the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to evaluate 22 green federal buildings across the country and came up with some amazing numbers showing that green buildings not only cost less to build and maintain, they also have happier, more satisfied occupants.
According to the study, green federal buildings use 25% less energy and 11% less water than standard federal buildings. They also emit 34% less carbon dioxide and cost 19% less to maintain. The most exciting statistic in the new report is that green buildings appear to have 27% more satisfied occupants than regular federal buildings!
This was no simple study, as the PNNL research team spent months collecting data from utility bills, maintenance fees, and individual occupant surveys. Kim Fowler, a senior PNNL researcher mentioned the all around specifications that make a green building successful saying, “One can design and construct a building well, with the greenest of specifications, but if it’s not operated well or isn’t meeting the needs of the occupants, the grandest intents go out the operable window.”
via PNNL news
lead image via creative commons user wonderlane, additional images via inhabitat
