Sophia Pascente
The concept of zero energy buildings and energy efficient homes could revolutionize building development in the years to come. Zero energy buildings are energy efficient homes that save 50%-70% more energy than traditional homes. Here, energy usage is often offset by renewable energy being produced around the building. Further, technology is constantly adapting to improve the efficiency and feasibility of producing these homes on a broad scale. One such developer, Scott Bergford, specializes in building homes that are extremely energy efficient while utilizing existing materials. Scott Bergfords commitment to building energy efficient homes should serve as a model for which future development should be based upon. When Mr. Bergford speaks of his success, he does so in a humble, grounded manner. However, one of the most inspiring messages of his talk was his commitment to building energy efficient homes for individuals of all socioeconomic backgrounds. His homes are not confined exclusively to the upper class, and instead seek to increase accessibility for energy efficiency across the board. Using his four pillars of energy efficiency: air sealing, proper ventilation, insulation, and efficient heating systems, he decreases energy costs for residents through a sustainable building model. Mr Bergford indicates that the implications from poorly built homes have lasting repercussions on homeowners. For example, when he improved the ventilation of his own home, he saw vast improvements in the health of him and his wife, and reduced their energy usage by 38%. This enabled him to expand his outreach to the low income communities in his area, the same communities this energy project focuses upon. When Bergford acknowledged how these communities are often the ones with the least energy efficient homes, he translated the problem into one of cost. By indicating the costs and benefits economically of switching to a more energy efficient home, he grounded the problem in an issue that all citizens care about. This, in my opinion, is the most accessible part of his work, as he indicated how energy inefficiency is a problem that deeply impacts all citizens. The final video that discusses the broader concept of building electrification is the video “Building Electrification: Why and How” from the Department of Energy. I personally loved this video due to its unique perspective on the importance of building electrification. This webinar was put on by the office of Indian Energy, and is incredibly unique in that they utilized an indigenous perspective in their presentation. While decarbonization is at the heart of all of the lectures on building efficiency, this is the first video that explains the need for decarbonization and then connects it to explicit solutions. This roadmap makes the discussion incredibly accessible to a broader community. Further, they use a myriad of visual charts to help break down energy usage in the U.S. In highlighting the importance of ‘showing not telling’ they break down complicated concepts visually, making this a great video to watch to gain a holistic concept of both what building electrification is, and why it is important.
Sophia Pascente
Finding out that 20% of the energy we use today is being used to power commercial energy buildings was shocking, as it highlights a major opportunity for growth in improving our energy system. The Department of Energy highlights a myriad of benefits for the development of energy efficient commercial buildings through which they can reduce energy usage by up to 70%. Ultimately, at the root of these high performance buildings is the comprehensiveness of their work. While not explicitly stated, one of the biggest takeaways here is that energy efficiency involves changing energy usage at every point in a major building. It is not enough to just add rooftop solar or to switch to LED lightbulbs, it involves energy efficient alternatives at every place of energy contact within the building. Similarly, the videos discuss a myriad of ways to improve rooftop structures such as the development of cool roofs. These are highly colored roofs made up of materials with a high solar reflectance. These simple changes could result in 10-15% worth of energy savings each month. This highlights a consistent message underlying these energy efficiency models. It is important to look at every single place through which buildings can be improved upon and made more sustainable. It is not enough to look exclusively inside a home, but to look at the composition of the home itself. Further, the videos do a fantastic job of bridging the need for cool roofs in order to combat more pervasive issues such as urban heat islands. The third Energy: 101 video discusses the importance of daylighting. Daylighting is the use of windows or skylights for natural lighting and temperature regulation. They are really interesting, as they involve looking at preexisting materials to strategically place windows that have good locations for natural lighting. I personally love this solution as it embodies a widely held belief of many Americans: to work smarter not harder. Instead of involving a complete overhaul of building structure, it encourages architects and developers to be more strategic in their placements. Further, it demands an energy efficient and sustainable mindset in building development, rather than just focusing upon developmental efficiency. Similar ideas carry into the video discussing geothermal heat pumps. These pumps involve tapping into a layer of the earth that maintains a consistent temperature year round. This allows developers to utilize this consistency aboveground to aid in the development of sustainable structures. I personally love the innovation involved in this energy efficiency solution, as it is stable and unchanging to weather trends that are often used as arguments in opposition for other structures. The final Energy 101 video discusses the smart grid, something that can be visualized as the future for sustainable energy usage. This grid involves the integration of all forms of renewable energies that are interconnected nationwide. These are intended to be connected to both private homes and commercial buildings to increase transparency and reduce strain upon the grid overall. This video does a fantastic job of explaining the process, but stands to be bogged down due to pessimism. While this is an incredibly interesting solution, it does not account for modern politics that extensively mitigate environmental progress, despite technological solutions. Ultimately, the Energy 101 videos from the U.S. Department of Energy are very useful because they simply and concisely break down the specifics of these buildings and articulate how accessible they could be when mass produced.
Sophia Pascente
The video on passive house design provides yet another solution to reducing energy usage in private homes. This design includes reducing thermal bridges (low-value insulated issues), in order to ensure that insulation is highly efficient across all areas of the home. It further involves the concept of ‘optimized orientation’ of the building and doors. This ensures that the windows and doors are optimally designed to place windows in a location that is optimal for obtaining natural sunlight. This is an incredibly similar process to daylighting, as discussed during the Energy: 101 videos. Finally, it ensures these buildings are properly sealed and ‘airtight’ in order to prevent heat loss. One final strategy is the use of mechanical ventilation systems. These mechanical systems are best equipped to utilize external temperatures and convert those temperatures into livable structures. Ultimately, while I was very impressed by how thorough this video was on the development of energy efficient homes, I felt as if the information was relatively repetitive. I think that this is an extremely interesting visual model on how each of the Energy: 101 solutions can be expanded upon in a traditional home, but I wish it would translate those ideas into a broader framework. That being said, in order to be truly effective in their work, buildings must have effective rating systems to ensure they are acting at maximum efficiency. As such, the video discussing building rating systems was incredibly well done and brings a new perspective into the evaluation of the aforementioned solutions. According to this framework, buildings can be evaluated by a set of five criteria: location and site, water, energy, building materials, and air. I personally enjoyed the perspective that this video brought, being that it ensured a way to evaluate the work of developers and see the long term impacts of their work. While all of the other concepts are great theoretically, this video grounds it in reality and in visualizing concrete change. Similar ideas to this involve the concept of a Home Energy Assessment. These assessments intend to evaluate existing homes and their current energy efficiency. Instead of the rating systems being used to predominately evaluate new developments, these look at physical parts of the house, such as their insulation, to evaluate and prescribe solutions. Given that this was an additional video in the Energy 101 series, it took the same tone as the previous ones. For quick and well articulated analysis of structures, these are a strong series of videos to follow. They combine visual in descriptive elements of conveying information to help individuals learn what these processes are, and further see how they are carried out. Similarly, the video on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) describes a certification program to help achieve high marks on the aforementioned tests. If the rating system is passed successfully, developers and commercial buildings would achieve a LEED certification. In progressing from a type of building design, to evaluation tools of building designs, LEED exists to incentivize strides towards positive evaluations. As such, it is an incredibly interesting way to ensure commitment and get commercial buildings to want to adapt themselves in sustainable ways. An additional enforcement mechanism similar to LEED is the 1-100 Energy Star score. This is a similar certification process that is billed as a way of saving time and money. However, this process is notable because it compares existing buildings alongside each other. Instead of evaluating it exclusively alongside a set of predetermined criteria, it is evaluated compared to other office buildings, schools, and homes in their area to ensure localized competition. This was perhaps the most interesting criteria to me, as it focuses on competition as an incentive for driving progress. While each of these videos were incredibly interesting in detailing the process of building energy efficient homes and providing criteria for evaluating them, it would have been interesting to see additional incentives compliance. Further, it would be interesting to see how public policy could interact with these evaluation structures in order to ensure compliance on a more widespread scale.