Government Program Eyes Thin Triples and Aerogel for ‘Energy Earthshot’ Investments
Two up-and-coming window glass technologies could see further advancement in the coming years after the Biden administration announced an initiative that aims to “slash” the costs for energy efficient upgrades in affordable housing. The Affordable Home Energy Shot program aims to cut the costs for energy-related upgrades in half within a decade.
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Why Windows Remain One of the Clearest Climate Solutions in the U.S.
The federal government estimates about 30% of energy used to heat and cool building in the U.S. goes out the window, which costs home and business owners around $40 billion a year, according to a federal study. Those deficiencies are also why better windows offer big potential benefits as a pragmatic climate solution. A report released by the Department of Energy last year found high-performance windows alone could cut carbon emissions 2% by 2050 and be “instrumental” in helping meet President Biden’s climate goals.
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White House to Define Zero Emission Building
Last week during the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild conference and expo, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi announced that the federal government will define what is a “zero emission” building. He described that the new federal Zero Emission Building standard will have a three pillar approach: ensuring energy efficiency; cost-effective renewable energy; and incentivizing electrification.
Opportunities in LEED for Promoting Health Through Materials
The embodied carbon of building materials contributes to 13% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. To address this impact, the LEED rating system has established several credits that encourage projects to purchase materials with beneficial lifecycle impacts and low embodied carbon that also promote building inhabitants’ safety, health, and well-being.
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States Explore Adopting Building Performance Standards Policies
As the impetus for economy-wide decarbonization increases, a growing number of state and local governments are exploring the adoption of building performance standards (BPS), a policy trend that has the potential to significantly reduce energy, carbon, and water use in existing buildings.
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California Becomes First State to Codify Embodied Carbon Reduction for Buildings
California has become the first state to set general code standards requiring the reduction of embodied carbon emissions in the design and building process, applicable to both commercial buildings and schools.
