GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION FROM AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

摘要

The aim of this research was to explore potential benefits and challenges of adopting green building rating system on a global level. A Building Information Modeling (BIM) of an illustrative building was developed and situated in different international locations with the goal of representing varying climate types, economic conditions and energy sources. The base BIM was individually changed to meet local codes, reasonable heating and cooling systems while in compliance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Life cycle environmental impacts related to energy use with electricity generation mix were calculated. Discrepancies were observed in the results between the different sites; with differences clearly increase with more diversified energy sources. Range of variation in equivalent CO_2 emissions was over 10,000 ton for the same building and the same level of LEED certification. We explored the need for LEED to require buildings with higher environmental impacts to achieve higher levels of energy performance based on associated impacts.