A tool is available to help assess the financial costs and benefits of several green projects.  GreenandSave.com provides an ROI (return on investment) table that lists the added costs, annual savings, projected savings over 10 or 20 years, and the ROI for a given improvement.  Improvements include Tune-Ups (small projects or changes that can be made to green up a home or building), Remodeling, and Advanced (larger projects or decisions for a new building).

An example of a Tune-Up project is installing an Energy Star approved programmable thermostat.  The average cost is $115.00.  The projected annual savings is $180.00, yielding an ROI of 156.5% and a payback of 0.6 years.

One of the Remodeling projects is to replace windows with Energy Star Low-E windows.  According to the GreenandSave Remodeling Table: the payback time in years is 2.3, the added cost is $700.00, the annual savings is $300.00, ten year savings is $3,000.00, and the ROI is 42.9%.

Advanced projects include doubling the insulation factor (R-value) of the exterior walls from R-19 to R-30.  The added cost for this improvement is listed as $900.00, annual savings of $120.00, ROI of 13.3%, and a payback of 7.5 years.

While the costs and savings may vary according to the area of the country or world a project is located in, this tool certainly gives an owner some hard data to use to when making a decision on whether to pursue a project or not.  Some projects, such as adding a programmable thermostat, pay for themselves quickly, so they become almost “no-brainers.”  Others, like the added insulation example above, require more thought.  Tools like GreenandSave.com’s ROI table give owners the data they need to make an educated choice.

CoStar tracked the number of LEED or Energy Star certified buildings since 2006, and compared lease and occupancy rates to similar non-certified buildings.For example, LEED certified buildings had a 92% occupancy rate, and averaged a lease rate of $42.38 per square foot. In comparison, non-LEED buildings had an occupancy rate of 87.9%, and an average lease rate of $31.05 per square foot. In a building with 50,000 square feet of leasable space, that would mean a difference of over $500,000 in income.

Energy Star certified buildings, in comparison, had an average occupancy rate of 91.5%, with lease rates averaging $30.55 per square foot. Non-Energy Star buildings were at 87.9% occupancy, and leased at $28.15. While the difference here is smaller, it still means $160,000 in additional income in a 50,000 square foot building.

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