The International Living Future Institute recently rebranded its Net Zero Energy program as “Zero Energy Building Certification.”
The Institute wants to position the certification as the sole standard for achieving top performance in building energy efficiency. ILFI will administer the certification program, and in collaboration with the New Buildings Institute, will operate a joint portal for zero energy buildings, which is still under development.
The standard’s reboot comes as improved solar, lighting, HVAC, and building-envelope technology have put zero energy within reach for more and more buildings, ILFI says. By the end of 2016, New Buildings Institute had verified that 53 buildings in its database produced more renewable energy than the total energy they used. Another 279 were designed to attain zero energy but hadn’t yet performed at that level for a full year.
The new standard eases the path toward certification including eliminating a requirement for a site audit.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Feb 14, 2019
ISO publishes first global BIM standards
Based on British standard and a publicly available standard.
Codes and Standards | Feb 12, 2019
Property technology adoption accelerates in commercial real estate industry
New business models create disintermediation.
Codes and Standards | Feb 11, 2019
Investing in downtowns pays off for cities, regions
Benefits include driving tax revenue, business activity, and smart development.
Codes and Standards | Feb 8, 2019
Oslo, Norway’s downtown goes virtually car-free
Parking spots converted to bike lanes, transit is fast and easy.
Codes and Standards | Feb 7, 2019
New North Carolina energy code has extensive lighting control requirements
Includes automatic shut offs for buildings of all sizes.
Codes and Standards | Feb 6, 2019
Solar carports can help with California’s Title 24 mandates
Can be combined with virtual net-metering software and tax-enabled financing.
Codes and Standards | Feb 5, 2019
Milwaukee board approves rezoning for Western Hemisphere’s tallest mass timber building
Mixed-use tower would rise 21 stories high.
Codes and Standards | Feb 1, 2019
Mass. governor proposes real estate transfer fee hike for climate resiliency projects
Opposed by real estate and trade groups, plan could generate $1 billion in next decade.
Codes and Standards | Jan 31, 2019
New York City will reform construction bid process
Streamlined process intended to improve efficiency, reduce hassle for bidders.
Codes and Standards | Jan 30, 2019
New AGC program aims to diversify construction workforce
More diversity needed to keep pace with demand for workers.
