Energy efficiency, home performance auditing, and renewables like solar are becoming more mainstream. That’s great for companies like us who have founded their model on the hypothesis that consumers want to save money and help the environment through those green solutions. This is probably a good time to say Thank you, Thank you! to all who have worked with us thus far.
But what’s next? How are we going to integrate all those solutions into one comprehensive and convenient package? How will consumers know when their building, whether a home or a place of work, has achieved success?
greeNEWit defines green success for a building as being net zero. This is when a building produces as much energy as it uses. In short, that means the building has:
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been baselined through an energy audit
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been sealed and insulated properly
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had a HVAC system properly sized for its air volume
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installed ENERGY STAR appliances
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installed renewables (usually solar)
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installed energy storage (home battery)
It is our vivid vision for the future that buildings, and therefore the communities that they are in, are more resilient, sustainable and prosperous because of being net zero.
Our confidence in this concept was recently reinforced when the Department of Energy (DOE) released a common definition of Zero Energy Buildings, Campuses, and Communities. This new DOE publication was prompted by “a lack of clarity and consistency across the industry on key definitional issues that increasingly were the source of market confusion.” We couldn’t agree more! It’s the mission of greeNEWit’s vivid vision to help consumers achieve net zero success in a fun and convenient way. The publication will be a resource for doing so, as it provides important guidelines for measurement and implementation, specifically explaining how to utilize this definition for building projects.
Just last week, greeNEWit spoke about the net zero trajectory with students from the Sustainability Analytics track within University of Maryland’s First- Year Innovation & Research Experience (FIRE). These students are learning the practical skills necessary, such as data visualization and research, to have a career in environmental policy, energy management, or net zero asset management. We talked about career tracks at greeNEWit specifically and how they will change as the industry grows and becomes more unified. The students found this video on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Net Zero Energy House Experiment to be particularly encouraging. Check it out for a little green inspiration(at the bottom of the article)!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch about energy efficiency and the net zero trajectory for your home and the other buildings in our community. As we like to say, powerful people deserve powerful homes!
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