High-Performance Buildings: Lessons Learned

By Paul A. Torcellini, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE; Ron Judkoff, Member ASHRAE; and Drury B. Crawley, Member ASHRAE

This article discusses a study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that documented the operating performance of six buildings to understand how these buildings performed according to their design goals. Each building was significantly better than minimum code requirements; however, each used more energy than calculated during design. In some cases, information gained from monitoring resulted in changes to the building to improve performance. Many of the lessons learned can be used in future buildings.

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This article was originally published in ASHRAE Journal in September 2004. It will be available here through April 5.