{"id":18716,"date":"2016-09-23T14:52:38","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T18:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=18716"},"modified":"2016-12-07T12:08:32","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T17:08:32","slug":"how-paris-cop21-drives-low-carbon-building-energy-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/how-paris-cop21-drives-low-carbon-building-energy-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"How Paris COP21 drives low-carbon building energy efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

HORIZONS<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Paul Bertram, FCSI, CDT, CSC, LEED AP, GGP<\/strong>
\n<\/em>At the 21st<\/sup> Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in December 2015, countries taking part in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris Agreement<\/em>. These nations, including the United States, will strive to keep the global temperature rise this century below 1.5 C (2.7 F). On Earth Day 2016\u2014April 21\u2014more than 155 countries respectively committed to this at the UN headquarters in New York City. With each country\u2019s signing of the agreement, a proposal plan for actions, whether short- or long-term, had to be submitted.<\/p>\n

During his Paris COP21 speech<\/a>, President Barack Obama said, \u201cthe United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.\u201d He then committed to reduce emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels within a decade.<\/p>\n

American Institute of Architects (AIA) president Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA, stated that when her board adopted a position statement <\/a>on resilience in 2014, it was a call to action for architects to address issues of climate adaptation in their practice. She says architects welcome the COP21 talks as a way to ensure the role buildings play in sustainability is forefront in the delegations\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n

CSI is a signatory supporting Ed Mazria\u2019s Architecture 2030<\/a> initiative, which calls for all new buildings, developments, and major renovations to be carbon-neutral by 2030. The Alliance to Save Energy says doubling energy productivity<\/a> in the United States by that same year will save $327 billion annually in energy costs, add 1.3 million jobs, and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) emissions by a third. The question is, how do those in the design\/construction industry help make this happen?<\/p>\n

This article is intended as a framework to consider strategic, tactical, and operational points of view regarding delivery of high-performance energy-efficient buildings. It is based on this author\u2019s personal experiences as a delegate of the Paris COP21, and as a CSI member involved in the design\/construction industry for more than a quarter-century.<\/p>\n

Government and industry pushing for change
\n<\/strong>U.S. adoption of stringent building energy codes for new residential and commercial buildings\u2014along with resources such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)\u2019s Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) Resource Center<\/a> and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP)\u2014has assisted in promoting adoption, implementation, and advancement of building energy codes on the state, local, and international levels. The DOE also has its Better Buildings initiative, which currently includes 310 partners representing 34,000 buildings who are set to achieve goals of at least 20 percent energy reduction within a decade. (These programs<\/a> from states and cities are worth noting for future business and case studies on what is working and what is not in energy intensity and related GHG reduction.)<\/p>\n

The federal government has been mandated to lead by example<\/a>. The vision is to create a clean-energy economy that will increase national prosperity, promote energy security, combat climate change, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of the environment.<\/p>\n

In 2006, General Services Administration (GSA) adopted the \u201cMemorandum of Understanding for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.\u201d This year, it updated its \u201cHigh Performance and Sustainable Buildings Guidance,\u201d which includes guiding principles<\/a> for minimizing energy use in new construction and major renovations, along with existing buildings. Strategies include focus on reducing building energy loads\u2014including products that are \u201clife-cycle-cost-effective\u201d\u2014before considering renewable or clean and alternative energy sources.<\/p>\n

The guiding principles are also influencing efforts throughout the country in exploring innovative ways to achieve progress toward carbon neutrality with advanced and stretch energy codes, incentive programs, and mandates. Forty-seven states have energy efficiency requirements for state-owned or funded public buildings that go beyond the state energy code and help reduce demand-side energy and related greenhouse gases (GHGs).<\/p>\n

In June 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set state standards to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants, a program known as the \u201cClean Power Plan<\/a>.\u201d Each state has a GHG reduction target and would be required to submit a plan\u2014with energy efficiency strategies encouraged\u2014to EPA for approval. However, the Supreme Court has \u2018stayed\u2019 the plan\u2019s implementation pending judicial rule\u201427 states oppose the EPA program, while 18 support it. While this \u2018stay\u2019 is in place, many states are nonetheless quietly continuing development for their plans, as building energy efficiency is considered an opportunity that can help reduce demand-side energy.<\/p>\n

The \u201cNortheast and Mid-Atlantic Industrial Sector Report: Market Assessment & Recommended Strategies to Accelerate Energy Efficiency<\/a>\u201d reports of the four major energy-consuming sectors of the United States economy, the industrial sector consumes the largest amount of energy, beating out transportation, along with residential and commercial buildings. It is accountable for approximately 31 percent of total energy use, or 30.5 quads in the Northeast alone.<\/p>\n

More than 140 companies, including U.S. industrial manufacturers, have made an ongoing commitment to climate action; they represent significant CO2<\/sub> reductions through the American Businesses for Climate Action and Clean Energy (AB4CE). These are the world\u2019s most influential businesses committed to doubling their energy productivity, which is about getting more economic output from each unit of energy.<\/p>\n

U.S. corporations contracted for 3.1 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in 2015\u2014double the amount procured by corporate purchasers the previous year, based on the findings of a study released by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEEI). According to Greenbiz.com<\/a>, 431 companies already report stronger financial performance and a better ability to manage the changing landscape of natural resources supply, customer demand, and regulatory controls.<\/p>\n

Almost 1900 companies publicly disclosed data to CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) last year, while 248 invested in projects to reduce climate-changing emissions outside of their immediate operations, purchasing the equivalent of 39.8 million tons of carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n

The City Energy Project is a national initiative run by Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. The current leadership of 10 cities (from Atlanta and Denver to Los Angeles and Chicago) are providing practical solutions that cut energy waste, boost local economies, and reduce harmful pollution. These types of programs from states and cities are worth noting for future business and case studies on what is working (and what is not) in energy intensity and related GHG reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN AMERICA<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

The 2014 American Center for Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) \u201cInternational Energy Efficiency Scorecard\u201d ranked the country 13 out of 16, behind China, Canada, and India. Last year, the United States moved up to eighth place<\/a>, but there is room to improve, especially when it comes to energy productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The current edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook<\/em>, produced for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, shows the ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) to energy consumed continues to grow, improving by 2.3 percent from 2014 to 2015, following a 1.1 percent increase the previous year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. economy has now grown by 10 percent since 2007, while primary energy consumption has fallen by 2.4 percent. Estimates put forward by ACEEE indicate as much as 60 percent of the energy intensity improvements seen since 1980 are due to efficiency gains.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act<\/em> (EISA<\/em>) calls for all new federal commercial buildings to be net-zero energy by 2030. Section 433 is a key component to federal buildings entering the planning process in 2020 or beyond to be designed to achieve zero-net-energy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Benchmarking, disclosure, and performance-based codes
\n<\/strong>DOE defines benchmarking<\/a> as the practice of comparing the measured performance of a device, process, facility, or organization to itself, its peers, or established norms\u2014the goal involves informing and motivating performance improvement. Thirty cities and states and 21 organizations from across the country are committing to take new actions to make it easier to identify ways to cut energy waste by making energy data available to building owners. This provides benchmarking information to determine what are the most cost-effective energy efficiency improvements for buildings.<\/p>\n

Fifteen cities now have benchmarking and disclosure laws, which require building owners to report their buildings\u2019 annual energy use to the local government. Several cities also adopted \u2018stretch\u2019 building energy codes, mandating new buildings to achieve higher energy efficiency goals going beyond base code. Benchmarking and disclosure is a basis for understanding where the best return on investment (ROI) is possible for energy efficiency improvements.<\/p>\n

Performance-based codes also reduce energy intensity and related GHGs. In 2014, participants at the Performance Outcome Summit<\/a> in Seattle examined the opportunities, barriers, and next steps that will transition the commercial building industry from estimating energy use (based on models in the design phase) to measuring real performance outcomes (based on actual energy use in an occupied building).<\/p>\n

The 2015 International Green Construction Code<\/em> (IgCC<\/em>) includes measures to improve energy efficiency of buildings. One of these, the Zero Energy Performance Index (zEPI), provides a scale for measuring commercial building energy performance. Critical to this effort is predictive (projected) energy modeling that requires an \u201cexperienced\u201d practitioner. The modeling demands continuous updating with quality control, utilizing Appendix G of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-rise Residential Buildings<\/em>, including model calibration and use of energy models for measurement and verification. The predictive (projected) energy modeling is compared to one year of actual performance benchmarking\/disclosure for making adjustments to deliver the clients energy productivity goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0EMBODIED ENERGY<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

The term \u2018embodied energy\u2019 refers to the energy required to extract, manufacture, transport, install, and dispose of building materials. Efforts to reduce this energy use and associated emissions (e.g.<\/em> through manufacturing energy intensity reductions) can be made as part of a larger effort to reduce emissions from buildings. Embodied energy is part of the life cycle assessment (LCA) used in whole-building LCA; it is reported by materials with an environmental product declaration (EPD) and may be specified consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Building technologies and trends
\n<\/strong>Given these various initiatives, standards, requirements, and aspirations, how can buildings be better designed to meet energy efficiency goals? After site orientation, one of the most important steps in creating a high-performance, low-carbon building involves the right-sizing of energy conservation measures (EMCs) such as lighting, building controls, and equipment with renewables or green power purchasing offsets. However, there is also another important factor\u2014envelope design.<\/p>\n

This author participated in the Paris COP21 sidebar session, \u201cA Key to Energizing Efficient, Productive, and Smart Cities and Grids.\u201d The talk turned to deep energy retrofits, including exterior recladding. Other business and policy panelists discussed unlocking emissions reductions and increasing energy productivity through energy-efficient and smart technologies in our cities and electricity grids. The important message was how these solutions together will deliver:<\/p>\n