There are some very well defined standards that are used for energy efficiency of buildings. But, my impression has always been that these are like QB ratings in the NFL. They are specific rules about how they are calculated. However, they don't tell the whole story. You can manipulate the building to improve the rating in ways that do not improve the REALITY of the performance.
Didn't Tim Teabow have a terrible QB rating and a wonderful QBR (or vice versa). Whereas when anyone who knows football would watch a game and see that he was not an effective quarterback. He did some things well (rushing, avoiding turnovers). But, the proof is in the pudding.... no one in the NFL wanted him to run their offense because he just couldn't do it. Whether he wasn't very smart (he wasn't) or he couldn't throw the ball quickly or accurately (he couldn't). But, all the NFL cares about is winning games. He seemed to do that reasonably well. But, the reality is that TEBOW wasn't the reason why the Broncos won games. They had a historically good defense. He was, at best, a game manager. Which we saw when they signed a real QB (Peyton Manning) and what that did for the team.
I feel like all these LEED ratings are similar. They mostly measure how good of a job you do manipulating the rules of the LEED rating system. It's a good system, in that owners who want better energy efficiency can get something that has value and which increases the value of the building. But, they genuinely do not tell the whole story.
