What Does Net Zero Carbon Mean in Buildings?
Jacob Goodman, CGBG Treasurer and LEED AP, BEMP, Project Manager of Building Performance and Peter D’Antonio, LEED AP, PE, CEM, President of PCD Engineering wrote about Zero Net Carbon buildings, published in Consulting-Specifying Engineer.
A Zero Net Carbon is an energy efficient building that either produces enough carbon-free renewable energy to meet annual building operation energy consumption or procures that energy off-site. According to the 2019 U.N Climate Action summit, in order to limit the rise of average global temperatures to 1.5°C, all new buildings must be ZNC by 2030. Until technology improves though, the only feasible path to ZNC building is through electrification.
In addition to ZNC, other building codes such as the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 can help propel green building. The Department of Energy estimates that from 2010 to 2040, energy codes will save 12.82 quadrillion Btus, saving $128 billion in energy bills, or being equivalent to the energy used by six million cars during the same period.
To learn more about Zero Net Carbon check out our interview with Jacob Goodman and read the full article here.