A comparison of LEED and BREEAM green building assessment tools and their relevance for Greece

A comparison of LEED and BREEAM green building assessment tools and their relevance for Greece (EN)

Seintou, Antonia (EN)

Meir, Prof. Isaac (EN)

Ass. Prof. Meir (EN)

Dr. Martinopoulos (EN)

Dr. Anastaselos (EN)

masterThesis

2015-09-27T05:57:54Z

2015-06-18T11:42:46Z

2012-10

2015-06-18

This dissertation was written as a part of the MSc in Energy Systems at the International Hellenic University. Here goes a summary of the dissertation. Buildings have a huge impact on the environment from the beginning of their life till the end of it. Therefore, processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout the building’s life are of great importance. The aim is the sustaina-ble performance of the building and to this direction, several environmental and man-agement tools have been developed which are known as green building assessment tools. The most representative rating systems are BREEAM and LEED. The first part of this dissertation focuses on the description of these two very important assessment tools. Firstly the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is presented in the dissertation. It was developed in the United States in 1998 and it promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by measuring performance in six categories in order to achieve human and environmental health. LEED can be applied to several types of buildings. The Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the second assessment tool that is presented. BREEAM evaluates the building’s performance in eight categories by awarding points for each one and covers a range of building types. After the description of these two assessment tools their differences and similarities are pointed out and at the end of the first part of the dissertation, the comparison conclu-sions between the two assessment tools are drawn and presented. The second part of the dissertation focuses on a local scale. The previously described tools are related to the Greek building industry. First of all the Greek general legislation for buildings is presented and of course the Di-rective 2002/91/EC for the energy performance of buildings which introduces a holistic approach to the energy design of buildings, as well as its recast, Directive 2010/31/EC. There are also Technical Guidelines that are taken into account, which were specifically issued according to the Greek climatic conditions and building criteria and are used for the issuance of the energy performance certificate of the building.At the end, the different categories and criteria of the two main assessment tools are linked to the Greek building sector and conclusions are drawn as to whether it is possi-ble to relate these tools to the Greek reality. At the same time, through these conclusions suggestions are made for further developments on the Greek building sector that have to do with the general improvement of the sector. At this point I would like to thank my supervisor, Associate Professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, I. Meir, for his guidance, his advice and support and most of all for his patience throughout the time of the preparation of this thesis. I would also like to thank my family and the people who are close to me for believing in me and for showing me their support, their encouragement and mostly for being patient over the last months. (EN)

English

School of Science and Technology, MSc in Energy Systems

School of Science &Technology, Master of Science (MSc) in Energy Systems (EN)

Default License

International Hellenic University

Institutional Repository of the International Hellenic University

University Center of International Programmes of Studies (UCIPS)

Master Theses