building decarbonization

Planning for Smarter HEMS and Public Buildings

Hot off the press, NEEP has just released a report entitled “The Smart Energy Home: Driving Residential Building Decarbonization”.  This report builds on NEEP’s multi-year effort in the smart energy homes space, and brings the role of controls more clearly into focus, outlining their importance for decarbonizing residential properties.

Benchmarking: From Policy to Action

Since the dawn of time, energy efficiency supporters have touted benchmarking as the critical first step to reducing energy consumption in the buildings sector. Whether it's the first step or not, the age-old saying "you can't manage what you don't measure" is true. Assessing our energy performance is critical to inform improvement efforts.

Bloomberg Philanthropies Releases Climate Action Playbook

In October, the Bloomberg Philanthropies released the American Cities Climate Challenge Climate Action Playbook, a strategic guide to accelerate and deepen climate action in cities. The Playbook highlights 30 important strategies that are currently being implemented in U.S. cities through the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge that other cities can follow.

Local Government Leadership for Building Electrification

This article is the last in a series referencing a paper Sue Coakley and I authored for the Electricity Journal. This special edition of the Electricity Journal titled “Energy Optimization is the Key to Affordable, Reliable Decarbonization” was coordinated by the Regulatory Assistance Project.

Vancouver Rolls Out Six Big Moves To Counter the Climate Emergency

Since 1990, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has had a climate action plan that has been amended and expanded multiple times. It is one of the leading cities in the world in addressing climate change and has shown creativity in addressing energy issues from a variety of perspectives including bicycle transportation, urban densification, building regulation, and neighborhood heat pump systems to name a few.

Ready for Lift-Off: Moving Building Decarbonization into Common Practice

I am always excited at the beginning stages of a new product or project, especially if it’s a brand new area of focus - a “blue water” opportunity that has tremendous potential, but is also uncharted. The first part is easy, you simply have to start moving. Of course, having a goal in mind and a rough idea of how to proceed is helpful. Over time, you need to get smarter and demonstrate the ability to adjust both your direction and strategy to develop better, faster, more coherent ways to reach your goal.

Buildings as Batteries: A Flexible Load for a Modernized Grid

This article is the first in a series referencing a paper Sue Coakley and I authored for the Electricity Journal. This special edition of the Electricity Journal titled “Energy Optimization is the Key to Affordable, Reliable Decarbonization” was coordinated by the Regulatory Assistance Project.

Accelerating Adoption of Advanced Heat Pump Products and Services

This article is the second in a series referencing a paper Sue Coakley and I authored for the Electricity Journal. This special edition of the Electricity Journal titled “Energy Optimization is the Key to Affordable, Reliable Decarbonization” was coordinated by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP).

Bigger Than a Building

Much of our thinking about the built environment is focused on individual buildings, which is generally a useful framework. Buildings align with ownership, buildings are regulated by zoning and codes, buildings frequently represent a utility customer, and buildings typically have their own heating and cooling systems. But many of the services that buildings receive are developed as part of a broader infrastructure, such as community water and sewer plants, transportation networks, and electricity.

Getting to “Good, Better, Best” Solutions for Decarbonizing Buildings

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.

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