Energy Conservation And Environmental Impact: How Low Can We Go?
By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting
There is growing pressure on the regulatory agencies and legislators to increase the stringency of energy codes. The Department of Energy stressed the importance of a 30% improvement in stringency of the new version of ASHRAE 90.1 standard. In fact, it was stated that unless this was achieved, the DOE may develop their own energy code.
The design professional community is facing a challenge of their own. The 2030 Challenge from renowned architect Edward Mazria directs the design community to strive toward all new buildings and major renovations being carbon neutral (using no fossil fuel greenhouse gas emitting energy to operate) by 2030. In fact, the Federal Government has now adopted this challenge for all new federal buildings.
States and local jurisdictions are setting mandates of their own to see that buildings are designed and built to be significantly more energy efficient. Even the USGBC’s LEED 2009 program has shifted more weight to the Energy and Atmosphere category to emphasize the importance of newly constructed buildings being more energy efficient than ever before. Some designers are looking beyond LEED to achieve even higher standards for energy efficiency.
Many are now looking at ways to design and build net zero energy buildings. A net zero energy building is one that is uses as much energy as it generates. As part of the Federal Government’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress created the Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative. Within that Initiative officially launched by the DOE, the Zero Energy Commercial Building Consortium was also formed, to bring together industry, laboratories, academia and government to develop marketable and affordable technologies to achieve net zero energy buildings. The goals of the Initiative are to achieve net zero energy buildings in new commercial buildings by 2030, half of all commercial building stock by 2040 and all commercial buildings by 2050.
The first step in this journey may be what some call near zero energy buildings. These are buildings that have in-situ renewable energy sources but have an energy load that still outweighs the generated energy.
But even near zero or net zero energy buildings are not enough for some innovative designers. Some are suggesting that the technology already exists for a building to be zero energy PLUS. This is a building that generates a net positive amount of energy due to its significant energy efficiency and conservation measures so robust that their load is insignificant. Combine that with a renewable energy generating technology on site and you have converted a building into a mini power plant, with excess energy being sold back to the utility.
Well that’s the Holy Grail, right? Maybe not. Some leaders in the building construction industry are beginning to talk about a zero environmental footprint. For many years, we have heard about the carbon footprint, as a gauge of how you, your home or your company is affecting CO2 generation or equivalent GHG emissions from power plants providing you with your energy needs. This is normally calculated by analyzing the amount of energy generated by you, your home or transportation means, either directly or indirectly. But a Zero Environmental Footprint goes beyond the impact on energy generation and your carbon footprint. The goal of a zero environment footprint is net zero energy, zero grid demand, zero solid waste, zero potable water used outside the building, and other extreme energy and environmental standards.
Perhaps a glimpse of this concept is available from an article that appeared recently in The Wall Street Journal. The Journal asked four prominent architects to design the green home of the future. Some of the innovative design suggestions include a photosynthetic layer on the exterior of a home to generate electricity and heat water, and insulated films that self-heal and self-clean. Another design included biomorphic skin on the home that turns dark in bright sun to insulate the house from heat and turns clear on dark days to absorb as much light and heat as possible. Other ideas included a façade that captures rain and condensation to meet the household’s water needs, vertical gardens on walls that grow vegetables, prefabricated containers and components, and an interior kitchen pond providing fresh fish.
Regardless of what level a designer finds him or herself in this dance of environmental limbo, it is clear that the first and most important step is reducing the amount of energy a building is consuming. This is achieved with conservation measures, more energy efficient systems and products, and re-thinking the make-up of building assemblies used in the envelope and in the interior. Metal roof and wall systems are part of the solution in this drive toward zero energy buildings. The industry needs to be focused on this ultimate goal for the future of the design and construction of buildings. As more energy efficient systems and assemblies are developed, metal is poised for many new opportunities created by this demand for innovative ways to reduce the energy load. In the case of metal roof and wall systems, they can also serve as the platform for many in-situ energy efficient renewable energy saving systems, such as solar heat recovery, solar water heating, above sheathing ventilation and building integrated photovoltaic systems.
How low can the built community go in terms of energy conservation and environmental impact? Innovation, combined with growing pressure to reduce our footprint of any kind, will get us lower than imaginable.
Scott Kriner, MCA's Technical Director, is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). Scott can be reached by email at skriner1@verizon.net, or by phone at (610) 966-2430. You can also visit him on the web at www.greenmetalconsulting.com.
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