Lisa Simpson
Jul 16,2010
In: Foreclosure

Real Estate Properties Facing Green Blues

Real estate properties facing green blues.

Real estate properties have troubles galore; added to these comes green blues. In downtown Youngstown, Ohio is a federal building that showcases extensive functioning of natural light to light up the offices and a roof that is white for purposes of reflecting the heat. This building has a Leed certificate. It is the most accepted seal for giving approval to green buildings in USA.

Unfortunately the building hardly lives up to the Leed standard. It did not have sufficient qualifying marks to be awarded the Energy Star mark by Environmental Protection Agency. The latter ranks the buildings after scrutinizing it one year utility bills.

A major guzzler of gas is the cooling system of this building. Another culprit was the design. To get the LEED label other points that are considered relate to local landscaping as against energy-saving features based on structure. These shortcomings were pointed out by the General Services Administration – the owner of the property.

The LEED certification is much coveted by the builders. LEED refers to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It helps in benefiting from tax credit. It also attracts tenants. Premium rent can be charged. The building projects an image of responsibility towards the environment.

There is a gap between the blueprint design and the actual construction. LEED certifies the completed project. It was announced recently that information would be collected about the energy being consumed by all the buildings that it certifies. The property holders would have to give the information themselves to the United States Green Building Council. The latter is a non-profit body that executes and supervises the LEED plan. The data would be kept secret.

From this year it is being stipulated that all new buildings are to provide the bills relating to energy and water consumption during the first five years of its functioning. This would be one of the conditions for obtaining the LEED certification. The label would be cancelled if the data is not produced.

The research conducted by the council shows that one quarter of all the new constructions that have obtained certification do not actually save as much energy as had been hoped from their designs. Most of the buildings do not keep track of the amount of energy being consumed once the building starts to be in use.

Architects, energy specialists and engineers have been criticizing the programme. They argue that since the building performances were not being tracked, the certification is inadequate and does not cover the required reduction of emissions that are related to the issue of global warming.

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