Going Green and Going Bust

An article posted on Fox.com, points to a few problems in regulating building standards that are not tested. Seattle's two-year-old City Hall has been plagued with problems that is making life difficult and uncomfortable for the tenants. Some examples of failed portions of this project are, light reflecting shelves designed to reduce electrical bills create such a glare that workers complain, and oxygen producing rainwater preserving" Green roof" died and will be receded with hardier plants. Boilers exploded, the police have trouble getting hot water in their locker rooms, offices are often too hot or too cold. One report from the city of Seattle says that "tenants are uncomfortable and they are wasting money heating and cooling air that is not reaching them".

In other example from washingtonpolicy.org, points to a middle school that has not achieved the savings they were promised.

"Tacoma middle school was projected to achieve 35% energy savings. During its first year and a half of operation, however, it is actually using 25% more energy than the average middle school in Tacoma, including one school built at the same time without the green building elements."

Washington State has become the first state requiring all tax funded buildings to be green. From this experience in Seattle it looks like there's going to be some wasted tax dollars over the next few years just learning about what works and what doesn't.