Understanding the difference between the two metrics is key to your decision-making. “They are based on different metrics,” says David Sachs, an engineer who is the director of existing buildings at Bright Power, a provider of energy and water management services. “Grades are based on square footage and space-use type. The carbon fine is adding up all of the carbon emissions from all the fuels your building consumes. They’re measuring different things, so it’s possible to have a good grade but still get fined.” Or vice versa.
Unlike the scale used for energy grading, carbon emission reduction is a straightforward calculation: if you improve your building by 1 BTU, you will have saved a little bit on your potential fine. “Part of the misconception that we’re finding,” says Darren Johnson, a senior account manager at Bright Power, “is that people think just because they changed the equipment they’ve done enough. Sometimes that isn’t enough. You have to deal with the equipment controls and the distribution of the energy.”
An excerpt from the article appears above. Read the full article on Habitat’s website.