By Christopher Perry, Senior Analyst, Buildings Program
Zero energy building codes are making inroads in Oregon, California, British Columbia, and other places, but a new ACEEE white paper reveals that they still face barriers to nationwide success, including a “solar-only” mentality.
From coast to coast, there’s considerable momentum for zero energy buildings, or ZEBs, which produce at least as much energy as they use over the course of a year. To make a building zero energy, designers first minimize the building’s energy use with high-efficiency walls, windows, HVAC equipment, and energy management systems. The remaining load is met with on-site renewable energy, typically solar photovoltaic panels.
British Columbia unveiled its voluntary zero energy “step code,” which its local governments could choose to adopt, in April 2017. A few months later in November, Oregon announced it would begin incorporating zero energy strategies into its building codes beginning in 2019. This year in May, California adopted a new building code that requires all new homes be zero electricity by 2020 and new commercial buildings by 2030. Other active zero energy plans are underway in Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts…
To read the white paper, visit: http://www2.aceee.org/
To continue reading the blog post, visit: http://www2.aceee.org/
About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org
Zero energy buildings on the rise but barriers remain posted first on Green Energy Times
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