At least 20 energy efficiency programs in the U.S. and Canada are focusing on encouraging and assisting building projects to be built to zero-energy and zero-energy-ready standards.
According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), these programs have an annual budget of about $65 million. They have collectively completed nearly 200 single-family homes, about 900 apartments in multifamily buildings, and 74 commercial totaling more than two million square feet of floor area. Affordable housing accounts for a significant portion of the multifamily projects.
A zero-energy building produces an amount of onsite energy (typically from photovoltaic panels) that equals or exceeds the energy it buys from utilities plus the energy losses from generation and transmission over the course of a year. Zero-energy-ready buildings are typically efficient enough to be operated with onsite energy, but lacking the solar energy systems needed to make the building truly zero-energy.
A few programs promote zero-carbon buildings, which emit no net carbon over the course of a year. Zero-energy homes and buildings often cost a little more to build than conventional homes and buildings, but as experience is gained, costs are going down, ACEEE says.
Related Stories
| Mar 19, 2014
Green building standards can help building become more storm-resistant
Structures built to green standards have added resilience to destructive storms because green buildings are often constructed with stronger, more sustainable materials than traditional buildings.
| Mar 19, 2014
Ohio Senate passes rule to require state agencies use ANSI standards rather than LEED
The resolution specifically mentions LEED v4, and calls for the U.S. Green Building Council to conform to ANSI.
| Mar 19, 2014
Tucson ignores ADA, building code on city-owned property
The city has been operating a downtown dirt parking lot in violation of its own code and the federal law for years.
| Mar 19, 2014
Santa Monica, Calif., may offer LEED alternatives to help promote green construction
With developers in Santa Monica, Calif., looking for ways to build green more inexpensively, the city may consider alternatives to LEED such as Green Globes.
| Mar 18, 2014
Canadian wood industry pushes for ‘wood first’ legislation on mid-rise public projects
The wood lobby is pushing Canadian provinces to pass “wood first” legislation specifying wood framed structures as the default for mid-rise public works projects where warranted.
| Mar 13, 2014
USGBC hits back at Environmental Policy Alliance criticism
The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Policy Alliance has launched a campaign to make the claim that LEED-certified buildings are less energy efficient than other buildings. In response, USGBC told its members: "Don’t be fooled, the Environmental Policy Alliance isn’t the 'EPA' you might think."
| Mar 13, 2014
North Carolina board recommends switch to six-year code update cycle
In a nine to six vote, the North Carolina State Building Code Council on March 11 approved moving the commercial building code (except for the electrical code) to a six-year cycle for updating instead of a three-year cycle.
| Mar 13, 2014
OSHA’s funding disclosure requirement for those offering silica rule comments draws ire
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is requiring those who submit comments on the silica rule to disclose their funding sources for their scientific research to avoid conflict of interest.
| Mar 13, 2014
EPA publishes ‘best management practices’ rule on erosion, stormwater at construction sites
The Environmental Protection Agency published a new rule this month that will require the construction, housing, and utility sectors to carry out "best management practices" in order to prevent erosion and harmful stormwater discharges at construction sites.
| Mar 5, 2014
San Francisco board seeks remedies to code enforcement complaints
Two supervisors charged that a lack of adequate code enforcement has led to blight from dilapidated or unfinished buildings.