Comparison of energy performance assessment between LEED, BREEAM and GREEN STAR

With the increasing awareness of sustainable development in the construction industry, implementation of an energy rating procedure to assess buildings is becoming more important. The most representative building environment assessment schemes that are in use today are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Green Star. This paper aims to focus on the investigation of energy performance assessment for new office buildings within the LEED, BREEAM and Green Star schemes. A review of the three schemes with regards to their assessment methods, scopes, performance criteria and energy rating scales are presented. A computational simulation, using software IES Virtual Environment has been conducted to quantitatively benchmark the energy rating method under the three schemes. The selected case study building was a typical open-plan office building located in Dubai. Through this study, an attempt is made to make clear how building energy performance is assessed and therefore awarded with energy credits under the LEED, BREEAM and Green Star schemes and to form a good basis for future development of a generic energy assessment framework across different nations.