American Chemistry Council (ACC) is touting projections in a new report by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) showing that combining building efficiency improvements-made possible by innovations in chemistry–with lower-carbon fuels could lead to a 41 percent reduction in energy use and a 70& reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Of all the energy used in the U.S., nearly one-third is consumed by the building sector. Improving efficiency is critical, and during the next few decades the amount of energy used by the building sector will increase dramatically (more than 62% by 2050), as will the amount of CO? emissions (more than 87% by 2050), according to the ICCA report.
“The ICCA projections reinforce what we have known for long time – that the chemical industry is an indispensable provider of solutions that improve the energy efficiency of buildings,” said Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council. “Nearly every energy-efficient technology is dependent on innovations made possible by chemistry. Our products make the nation’s energy supplies go further while lowering energy costs for businesses and families.”
The ICCA Building Technology Roadmap, which will be officially released this week at the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Doha, Qatar, examined the chemical industry’s contributions to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas savings in residential and commercial construction. The report focused on the potential savings from five chemically derived building technologies that are commercially available today: insulation, pipe and pipe insulation, air sealing, reflective roof coatings and pigments, and windows.
According to the ICCA report, energy-saving products installed in homes in the U.S. prevented nearly 283 million tons of CO? emissions in 2010–equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 50 million passenger vehicles. Studies show that if this trend continues, more than 7 billion tons of emissions can be avoided by 2050 in the U.S. alone–equivalent to the CO? emissions of more than 1.2 billion passenger vehicles.
Averaging at least 75% of the heat loss in households, single-family homes provide most of the potential for energy savings within the residential sector. In 2010, the cumulative energy savings from chemically derived building products in U.S. residential buildings was 46 times greater than the energy required to produce the products. +
Related Stories
| Apr 13, 2011
Duke University parking garage driven to LEED certification
People parking their cars inside the new Research Drive garage at Duke University are making history—they’re utilizing the country’s first freestanding LEED-certified parking structure.
| Apr 12, 2011
Rutgers students offered choice of food and dining facilities
The Livingston Dining Commons at Rutgers University’s Livingston Campus in New Brunswick, N.J., was designed by Biber Partnership, Summit, N.J., to offer three different dining rooms that connect to a central servery.
| Apr 12, 2011
Long-awaited San Francisco center is music to jazz organization’s ears
After 28 years, SFJAZZ is getting its first permanent home. The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to advancing the art of jazz through concerts and educational programs, contracted local design firm Mark Cavagnero Associates and general contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie to create a modern performance center in the city’s Hayes Valley neighborhood
| Apr 12, 2011
Spray Foam Applications on the Rise
New uses for spray polyurethane foam enable Building Teams to achieve greater longevity and sustainability in their projects.
| Mar 30, 2011
New testing device may help to seal the deal for building owners
A building is only as secure against the environment as its most degraded joint sealants, about 50% of which fail in less than 10 years after installation. Moisture damage due to failed sealants is responsible for much of the $65 billion to $80 billion spent on annual repairs. However, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are assembling a toolkit of measurement devices and scientific data that will help manufacturers of sealants systematically improve the protective performance of their products.
| Mar 11, 2011
Renovation energizes retirement community in Massachusetts
The 12-year-old Edgewood Retirement Community in Andover, Mass., underwent a major 40,000-sf expansion and renovation that added 60 patient care beds in the long-term care unit, a new 17,000-sf, 40-bed cognitive impairment unit, and an 80-seat informal dining bistro.
| Mar 11, 2011
Research facility added to Texas Medical Center
Situated on the Texas Medical Center’s North Campus in Houston, the new Methodist Hospital Research Institute is a 12-story, 440,000-sf facility dedicated to translational research. Designed by New York City-based Kohn Pedersen Fox, with healthcare, science, and technology firm WHR Architects, Houston, the building has open, flexible labs, offices, and amenities for use by 90 principal investigators and 800 post-doc trainees and staff.
| Mar 11, 2011
Blockbuster remodel transforms Omaha video store into a bank
A former Hollywood Video store in Omaha, Neb., was renovated and repurposed as the SAC Federal Credit Union, Ames Branch. Architects at Leo A Daly transformed the outdated 5,000-sf retail space into a modern facility by wrapping the exterior in poplar siding and adding a new glass storefront that floods the interior with natural light.
| Mar 11, 2011
Mixed-income retirement community in Maryland based on holistic care
The Green House Residences at Stadium Place in Waverly, Md., is a five-story, 40,600-sf, mixed-income retirement community based on a holistic continuum of care concept developed by Dr. Bill Thomas. Each of the four residential floors houses a self-contained home for 12 residents that includes 12 bedrooms/baths organized around a common living/social area called the “hearth,” which includes a kitchen, living room with fireplace, and dining area.
| Mar 11, 2011
Guests can check out hotel’s urban loft design, music selection
MODO, Advaya Hospitality’s affordable new lifestyle hotel brand, will have an urban Bauhaus loft design and target design-, music-, and tech-savvy guest who will have access to thousands of tracks in vinyl, CD, and MP3 formats through a partnership with Downtown Music. Guest can create their own playlists, and each guest room will feature iPod docks and large flat-screen TVs.
