The New York Times discusses “green" building which really isn’t all that green. In the Sunday article Mireya Navarro writes that research by the U.S. Green Building Council, which administers the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, “suggests that a quarter of the new buildings that have been certified do not save as much energy as their designs predicted and that most do not track energy consumption once in use.” The article comments on a study the USGBC performed last year of certain buildings certified through 2006. Navarro continues, “Anecdotal information from follow-up research to that study indicated that the best-performing buildings had limited window areas and tended to be smaller.” Big surprise. Smaller buildings generally have fewer windows than larger buildings, and by the very nature of their smallness, smaller buildings are easier on the environment. It’s only common sense. I wrote about common sense green design here.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast