By Guest Contributor |
This blog was written by David Farnsworth and Dr. Jan Rosenow of Regulatory Assistance Project, and represents the organization's work and approach. Building Decarb Central is meant to share different perspectives on the topic of building decarbonization. This blog is part of that dialogue.
Despite being an ocean apart, Germany and New England are similar in many respects. More than 75 percent…
By Dave Hewitt |
Berkeley, California made news recently with a ban on natural gas hookups in most new construction. The story has definitely been picked up by the media as Berkeley is the first city to ban natural gas. NRDC estimates that as many as 50 cities in California are considering similar bans. A couple of very good articles that covered the event from different angles are a story in the Guardian that…
By Dave Hewitt |
The Berkeley limitations on new hookups for natural gas will likely set a precedent for new construction activity in many cities and some states across the country. While the efficient, electrified replacement technologies for water and space heating are not well known, they are – at least – likely in the basement or garage. They are out-of-sight and out-of-mind. That is, of course, if they…
By Dave Hewitt |
The Washington state legislature has approved a statewide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. HB 1257, Clean Buildings for Washington Act includes development of an existing building standard that applies to non-residential buildings along with hotels, motels, and dormitories greater than 50,000 square feet in size. The program will start with a voluntary phase –…
By Samantha Caputo |
Summer is one of my favorite times to visit Maine. With miles of white sandy beaches, quintessential New England towns, piers, lighthouses, national parks, and more, it is a great place to be. I was recently in Portland, Maine, and there was a lot of buzz about the legislative session that just closed. The amount of energy efficiency and climate legislation that was signed into public law is a…
By Giselle Procaccianti |
In my last blog, The State of Strategic Energy Management in the Northeast, I gave an overview of NEEP’s efforts to assist with the adoption of Strategic Energy Management (SEM) in the commercial, industrial and municipal sectors in the Northeast. In this blog, I thought I would provide more detail on the SEM programs that are being offered by different states in the Northeast region.
Driven by…
By David Lis |
Last month in Woburn, Massachusetts, 135 air source heat pump (ASHP) stakeholders gathered to discuss market transformation strategies for ASHPs. NEEP has been hosting this annual in-person workshop since 2014 and this represented our largest event yet. The workshop is a critical opportunity for regional stakeholders to focus on collaborating towards market transformation. Not unlike past years…
By Dave Hewitt |
In this issue of Building Decarb Central, we look at some of the critical discussions and findings from NEEP’s recent 2019 Air Source Heat Pump Market Transformation Workshop in Woburn, Massachusetts. The two-day event drew about 150 people from all over the U.S. and Canada who focused on building the market to provide low-carbon space heating for buildings. Participants included manufacturers,…
By Dave Hewitt |
Among the excellent sessions at the NEEP Air Source Heat Pump workshop was a presentation by Peter McPhee, Director of Clean Heating and Cooling for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The MassCEC has run a program to support Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology since May 2017. VRF is a type of air source heat pump that can serve many commercial building types and larger…
By Dave Hewitt |
There is a broad array of heating and cooling system types available in the market that can effectively either decarbonize or electrify (with an increasingly decarbonized grid) building space heating. Some of the newer ones, at least for the U.S. market, were discussed at the NEEP air source heat pump workshop. In addition to discussing ductless and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat pumps,…