Energy Performance in Residential Green Developments: A Florida Case Study

  • October 19, 2008
  • • Written by: Pierce Jones, Ph.D. Ujjval K. Vyas, Ph.D., J.D.
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Volume 33, Number 3
Published: Fall 2008
By Pierce Jones, Ph.D., and Ujjval K. Vyas, Ph.D., J.D.

Abstract: Housing plays an important role in decreasing the overall U.S. energy consumption. To promote energy efficiency in the residential sector, utilities and governments are increasingly relying on incentives linked to “green certification” protocols. Programs like USGBC LEED®, Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globe or other recognized rating system account for many aspects of home energy use, but they fail to measure real energy consumption rates of buildings after certification.

This article presents data showing that in 2006, Florida’s first ENERGY STAR® homes are still more energy efficient than conventionally built homes, but not by as much as they were in 2000. These results can be viewed optimistically, but also clearly point to the need for credible energy consumption data on which to build practical policies to effectuate change.

 

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    Pierce Jones, Ph.D.

    earned his graduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida in 1980, and is a professor there in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He directs the Program for Resource Efficient Communities, an interdisciplinary, self-funded, entrepreneurial group that promotes the adoption of “best design, construction and management practices” in new, master planned residential developments. Under his direction, the Program for Resource Efficient Communities is directly participating in land development and building projects that adopt and demonstrate “green” practices.

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    Ujjval K. Vyas, Ph.D., J.D.

    is the principal of Alberti Group, a Chicago-based interdisciplinary consultancy specializing in emerging issues in the building industry including sustainability and high-performance buildings, building information modeling, and alternative project delivery systems. He has lectured and published extensively on legal and business risks in the sustainable building marketplace, covering large-scale policy, insurance, legal and technical issues. Dr. Vyas holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a J.D. with honors from Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Announcing The Jared Shlaes Prize

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