Natural Gas in Commercial Buildings

There were more than 4.8 million commercial buildings in the United States in 2003. Space heating and lighting are the largest uses of energy in commercial buildings, representing 38 percent and 20 percent of total site use respectively. The choice of electricity or natural gas use within the sector is dependent on building use, size, and geographic location. Health care and educational buildings use natural gas more commonly than other commercial building types.

Addressing Market Barriers to Energy Efficiency in Buildings

A large share of total U.S. energy consumption—40 percent—occurs in homes and buildings. Homes and buildings are less energy efficient than they would be if people could assess the value of energy savings more easily and correctly, and if energy prices provided them with stronger incentives to do so. This paper identifies three reasons why people undervalue energy savings: misperceived energy prices, imperfect information about energy efficiency, and biased reasoning about energy savings. The paper then examines four types of policy options for addressing those underlying market imperfections: prices that reflect the social costs of energy use, financial incentives, energy-efficiency …

Buildings R&D Breakthroughs: Technologies and Products Supported by the Building Technologies Program

ecoENERGY Efficiency for Buildings

Assessment of the Technical Potential for Achieving Zero-Energy Commercial Buildings

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Program has adopted
the goal of making zero-energy commercial buildings (ZEBs) marketable by 2025.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted an assessment of the entire commercial sector to evaluate the technical potential for meeting this goal with technology available in 2005 and projected forward to possible technology improvements for 2025.  The analysis looked at the technical feasibility of ZEBs, limitations in market penetration and utility grid structures notwithstanding.

The core of the evaluation was based on creating 15-minute, annual simulations based on 5,375 buildings in the 1999 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption …

Building Modernization Legislative Toolkit

New technologies are rapidly changing the way we use energy in our homes and businesses. But in many U.S. states, the legal and regulatory status quo includes barriers to adopting these technologies. This toolkit is a free resource for legislators and policymakers who want to address these barriers and clear the way for building modernization in their states. Clicking on each of the seven topic areas below, you’ll find policy background, resources and, most importantly, detailed exploration of legislative options your state could pursue, drawing on examples from across the country. Proactive policy action can ensure that buildings are modernized …

The Hidden Climate Impact of Residential Construction

New home construction in the US creates over 50 million tons of embodied carbon emissions annually, equivalent to the emissions from 138 natural gas–fired power plants or the yearly emissions from entire countries such as Norway, Peru, and Sweden. However, the sector has a unique opportunity to reduce tens of millions of tons of emissions and become a leading contributor to US climate targets, quickly and efficiently. Understanding and reducing overall climate impact requires paying attention to the upstream, or embodied, emissions that result from producing building materials such as concrete and insulation in addition to the downstream operational emissions …

Sustainable, Affordable Cooling Can Save Tens of Thousands of Lives Each Year

Energy demand for space cooling has increased more than twice as fast as the overall energy demand in buildings over the last decade. Higher temperatures caused by climate change, coupled with increasing incomes and growing populations, are driving rapid growth in residential air conditioning (AC) ownership.

Access to effective cooling has saved tens of thousands of lives; over the same period, the average annual number of heat-related deaths averted by AC increased 3-fold, reaching an estimated 190 000 lives saved per year during 2019-2021. However, the rapid growth of AC is putting stress on the power grid, whilst exacerbating the …

How US Cities are Finding Creative Ways to Fund Climate Progress

Even as the international community coordinates global climate action through the Paris Agreement and the U.S. government makes strides through major bills such as the Inflation Reduction Act, there is plenty that cities must still do on their own to clean up their economies and built environments. One of the most frequent approaches are decarbonization plans, which are often nested within larger climate action plans. Decarbonization plans outline specific steps cities will take to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their electricity systems, buildings, transportation networks, and related sectors.

This report summarizes specific funding and financing policies found in 50 …

Energy Efficiency for Everyone

The Empower Maryland Energy Efficiency Act of 2008 has done a lot to improve energy efficiency in Maryland – saving utility customers money, reducing pollution and helping protect the environment. But now, a decade and a half after it was first adopted, the programs that resulted from it can and should be updated to meet more of the state’s needs and better serve Marylanders. With smart reforms, the next iteration of EmPOWER Maryland can achieve greater total energy and financial savings, better serve limited-income Marylanders, and deliver even more environmental and public health benefits.

Maryland utilities are leaving energy savings …