GSA planning net-zero energy building guidance policy

The General Services Administration’s Net-Zero Energy Task Group is working on a draft letter with clear goals and guidance for net-zero energy buildings by this September. The committee recently created a provisional definition of net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs).

The draft definition distinguishes between two different types of net-zero buildings:

NZEB: an energy-efficient building where the actual annual source energy consumption is balanced by on-site renewable energy.
REC-NZEB: an energy-efficient building where the actual annual source energy consumption is balanced by on-site renewable energy to the maximum extent possible and is augmented by off-site renewable energy and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from certified sources.

GSA’s Net-Zero Energy Task Group is part of the Green Building Advisory Committee, which advises and helps agencies build more sustainably. In its draft, the committee has recommended that net-zero buildings reduce energy use by 50% or more than typical buildings of similar types.

(http://www.federalnewsradio.com/239/3660266/GSA-task-force-plans-for-future-net-zero-energy-buildings)

To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.

| Jan 9, 2014

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