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There’s no shortage of news stories proliferating within building and energy efficiency circles. It can be overwhelming to keep up with developments, so this week, we focus on three stories that we think should be on your radar.
The National Definition of Zero Emissions Building
U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has released the National Definition of Zero Emissions Building. That definition concludes that “a building that is highly energy efficient does not emit greenhouse gas directly from energy use and is powered solely by clean energy.”
Residential and commercial buildings are among the top sources of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and they are responsible for more than one-third of total emissions.
Also, DOE’s Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Budlings Sector outlines a strategy to reduce building emissions by 35% by 2035 and 50% by 2050 while delivering equity, affordability, and resilient communities. The linchpin of that plan is increasing building energy efficiency, which is achieved primarily through improving the building thermal envelope, including insulation.
Fighting Floods by Cutting GHG
A recent study published by Water Resources Research led by experts at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and global water risk intelligence firm Fathom concludes that we can lower the risk of climate change-driven flood events by cutting carbon emissions.
By using a mapping framework, the study’s findings conclude that global flooding events could increase by roughly 50 percent between 2020 and the turn of the century in the event of high climate sensitivity and broken promises by nations to reduce carbon emissions.
In the best-case scenario where nations actually meet their climate pledges, the average flood hazard level is expected to rise by just 9 percent between 2020 and 2100. Higher carbon emissions would result in flooding events increasing by roughly 49 percent by the turn of the century.
Obviously, buildings play a role in cutting emissions as they make up roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A global response to cutting total building emissions would have a significant impact on determining future outcomes.
The Virtual Home Energy House Call
Utility companies nationwide offer a wide array of services and options for homeowners who want to reduce their utility bills and increase the comfort of their homes. Some of them are simple and easy to implement. Some, not so much. A new program from Duke Energy fits into the former category rather than the latter.
The Home Energy House Call Program is available to single-family homeowners and renters of condos, townhomes, and manufactured homes. The program connects an energy advisor with the consumer to conduct a free walk-through assessment of the home, which is enabled using the homeowner’s mobile device camera. The energy advisor will perform an energy assessment over the phone and answer questions posed by the homeowner.
An energy advisor will use the customer’s total home energy usage to gauge the efficiency of their appliances and heating and cooling systems. A separate self-guided online assessment generates a report with specific saving recommendations based on customer responses. Finally, the energy expert will provide a detailed report to the customer on steps they can take to increase efficiency.
Making energy efficiency assessments easier for homeowners to complete is a welcome step to spur action to increase home energy efficiency. This is a welcome development for consumers.
Conclusion
Energy efficiency is such a critical topic that it’s important to stay informed of new policies, research, and developments. We’ll do our part by sharing the stories that are interesting and relevant to those building industry professionals.