PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present research that analyses the energy performance and occupancy satisfaction in two very similar buildings that have been designed, constructed and are in use by one government department within the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe work presented applies post occupancy evaluation (POE), metered data and benchmarking to evaluate the two case study buildings.FindingsFindings are related to a (BRE environmental assessment method) BREEAM assessment that was undertaken for one building, but not for the other. Results show that these closely related cases have similar occupancy satisfaction levels, but rather different energy performance. This last aspect is thought to be due to differences in functions of the buildings. Surprisingly, the use of a BREEAM assessment during the design stage has not contributed to making the case involved more energy efficient.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper only compares two cases, with all inherent limitations. The methodology is limited to POE and metered data; no full monitoring or thermal simulation efforts have been conducted at this stage.Practical implicationsThe project demonstrates that very similar buildings might perform differently. Findings raise some questions over the impact that can be expected from BREEAM ratings.Originality/valueThe study of two closely related buildings provides interesting information to practitioners on factors that might be underrated in current design methods and performance assessment ratings.

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