ORLANDO, Fla.,None — WFTV investigates the city of Orlando's environmentally friendly buildings. LEED-certified fire stations are built to the highest environmental standards, usually at a higher cost. But investigative reporter George Spencer reviewed 12 months of power usage and found the special buildings often use more electricity.
At only three years old, Orlando's red-roofed Fire Station 7 in Washington Shores is certified as LEED gold -- one of the highest and costliest environmental ratings.
Contrast it with Station 11 on Curry Ford Road. Even at 39 years old, and without any environmental certification, WFTV discovered that the station used 21 percent less energy per square foot last year than its environmentally friendly counterpart, Station 7.
Usually its assumed the LEED ratings mean those buildings are going to use less energy. WFTV reviewed a year of power data for Orlando's 17 fire stations and found that the green stations aren't always so green, electricity-wise.
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Orlando fire stations power usage:
LEED-gold station No. 7: 23.9 kwh per sq. ft.
LEED-certified station No. 16: 23.2 kwh per sq. ft.
LEED-certified station No. 17: 22.9 kwh per sq. ft.
Non-LEED station avg: 22.5 kwh per sq ft.
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Of the city's five LEED-certified stations, three used more electricity per square foot than the average non-LEED station.
The city paid a premium -- sometimes 8 to 10 percent more -- for things like the locally sourced construction materials used in a LEED-certified fire station. The common assumption being that it will "pay off" in lower energy use.
"I can understand what the concern is," Orlando sustainability manager Jon Ippel said.
But Ippel said some fire stations may house more employees, and newer stations may use extra energy to meet newer building requirements.
He said that energy-saving lessons learned in one building are implemented everywhere.
"There's a lot of variables here that are all pushing energy savings down -- not just in the LEED-certified buildings but in our older ones as well," Ippel said.
Even though the discrepancies WFTV uncovered are significant, like LEED- certified Station 16 using 18 percent more electricity per square foot than non-LEED Station 13, Ippel insisted that electricity is not the only way to measure a building's environmental impact.
For example, many LEED buildings also collect and repurpose rainwater.
But city leaders said they still hope to have electricity costs cut in half a decade from now.