Findings from a low-energy, new commercial-buildings research and demonstration project

Energy edge (EE) was a research-oriented demonstration project that began in 1985; 28 buildings were constructed to use 30% less electricity than a hypothetical simulated baseline building. Average energy savings for 18 buildings evaluated with post-occupancy tuned simulation models were less at 17%. Only six met the cost of conserved (CCE) energy of 5.6 ¢/kWh for the total package of energy-efficiency measures because the building characteristics changed from design assumptions. Forty-one percent of the individual energy-efficiency measures met the target CCE. The cost effectiveness of the measures would have been greater if the baseline had been common practice rather than the regional building code. The EE small offices use about 30–50% less energy than comparable buildings. Savings also would have been greater if commissioning was included within the program. Future projects should consider lower-cost “hands-on” evaluation techniques with annual check-ups to ensure persistence of savings.