Net zero energy buildings are becoming more mainstream as technologies and processes improve, and renewable energy becomes less costly. Increasingly, innovators are focusing on how to take existing buildings to net zero. Whether for new or existing buildings, getting to net zero means first maximizing energy efficiency, then adding renewable generation to cover remaining energy needs. The...
By Clay Nesler Every year more organizations commit to reduce their carbon footprint. In 2011, nearly three quarters of the Global 500 companies responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project announced public emission reduction targets — an 18 percent increase over 2010. For these organizations, a carbon intensity measure is often used as the basis for setting carbon reduction...
U.S. Policy Opportunities for Improving Building Performance The United States has made substantial progress in energy efficiency – energy use today is about half what it would have been without improvements made over the past 40 years. Still, there are opportunities to do a great deal more – cost-effectively – by adopting available and emerging energy technologies, according to...
The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Center for Market Innovation (CMI) now offers a guide for tenants and building owners that describes how to develop, quantify, implement, and measure energy performance solutions in a commercial office space. Tenant spaces account for more than half of a commercial office building’s total energy use. There is great opportunity for energy...
A study completed by the Central European University and commissioned by the Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) demonstrates how transformative change in the building sector can contribute to emissions reductions. To achieve the full potential of emissions reductions in the building sector, today’s best-practice, state-of-the-art buildings must become the standard in less than 10...
Now there’s a quick, cost-effective and accurate way to generate models of building energy performance without the time and cost involved in on-site energy audits. Lean Energy Analysis (LEAN) uses regression analysis techniques combined with information from past utility bills to create the models. LEAN goes beyond the simple energy use intensity (EUI) benchmarking comparisons or the...
What’s It Worth? Comparing ways to value solar PV installations Investments that save energy can improve property value, but when it’s time to sell a building, the question remains: what is it worth? As solar photovoltaic (PV) systems gain popularity, appraisers need a standard way to determine the value they add to buildings. Best practices have begun to emerge. Three...
Retro-commissioning is a process to improve the efficiency of an existing building’s equipment and systems. It can often resolve problems that occurred during design or construction, or address problems that have developed throughout the building’s life as equipment has aged, or as building usage has changed.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs use a senior lien property tax assessment process to finance renewable and energy efficiency upgrades for buildings. Most PACE programs require property owners to get consent from existing mortgage lender before starting PACE-funded improvements – and that has the potential to derail projects if lenders don’t consent.
The state of U.S. energy and the role of new technologies Building energy efficiency is making its mark in the current energy economy, according to a new report from...