As a heat wave grips much of the country, with temperatures in some areas running into the triple digits, keeping cool is critical. Yet as millions of people rely on air conditioners we run into…
REALIZE, under its existing grant with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has conducted a market assessment of high performance, prefabricated retrofit technologies in the United States…
As we embark on a new decade, we are reflecting on the many exciting advancements in the building industry. One highlight from last year was the Getting to Zero Forum held in October in Oakland…
In October, 2019, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and New Buildings Institute (NBI) organized an inaugural zLab to bring together industry leaders to brainstorm solutions and develop action plans around three topics: building electrification for decarbonization,…
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…
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…
Last week the Rocky Mountain Institute Basalt office (and two of our Boulder colleagues) had an amazing opportunity. We were able to volunteer to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity. But these weren’t just…
Our homes may be a source of safety, comfort, and stability—but they also represent a considerable slice of our country’s carbon emissions (19 percent, according to the latest estimate from the US Energy Information Administration).
If you had a choice between building new homes that meet basic standards and building comfortable, healthy homes that dramatically cut energy bills, which would you prefer? How about if the low-energy homes cost the…
Zero-energy (ZE) homes—efficient homes that produce or procure as much renewable energy as they consume over the course of a year—are often marketed as luxury homes, only available to the select few that are willing…
