Net-Zero Energy
Surviving the Next Polar Vortex
One year ago this week, the Midwest was under siege from the “polar vortex” that caused subzero temperatures and power outages across Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and New Jersey. In light of the fact that climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of these events,…
Making Our Existing Buildings Zero Carbon: A Three-Pronged Approach
To keep average global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C—which the IPCC states is necessary to avoid climate catastrophe—we need to fix our buildings. They are the largest end-users of energy, producing nearly 40 percent of US carbon emissions. Today, only a small fraction of our buildings do not produce…
Decarbonizing Buildings for All
Lowering carbon emissions from the buildings sector (which produces nearly 40 percent of US carbon emissions) is a crucial part of getting to a decarbonized economy. However, when we implement efficiency or renewable energy projects in buildings, the projects are often targeted to those who can afford new technologies.
Defining the Future of the Built Environment
Today, buildings account for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, transforming the building stock is essential to ensure a decarbonized energy system and to keep global temperature rise below 2°C. That’s what nearly 600 leading policymakers, design professionals, building owners, and systems manufacturers were discussing at the Getting to…
Pittsburgh Paves the Way for a Zero-Energy City
Today, the City of Pittsburgh passed an important ordinance to help it reach its climate goals. All new and existing city facilities must be built or retrofit to net-zero energy (NZE) ready—an advanced level of building performance in which a building is designed to achieve net zero energy levels of…