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The Growing Importance of Energy Efficiency |
Jeff Stephens, Editor - Chapter NewsletterWith crude oil prices at record highs, gasoline at more than $4 per
gallon, and President Bush calling on Congress to end a federal ban on
offshore oil drilling, energy conservation has emerged as the hot topic
for the summer. With buildings accounting for 70% of electricity
consumption and 39% of energy use in the US, there seems to be plenty
of room for energy improvement. Green building advocates have long
trumpeted energy efficiency (i.e., thanks to a favorable ROI) as one of
the more marketable benefits to building green. State Architect David
Thorman is even making a push for new California schools to become
grid-neutral, which can only happen if they are super efficient.
Energy efficiency is actually the hidden success story of energy policy.
A study released in May 2008 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that energy efficiency may be “the farthest-reaching, least-polluting, and fastest-growing energy success story of the last 50 years.” U.S. energy consumption (as measured per dollar of economic output) will have been slashed by the end of 2008 to half of what it was in 1970, from 18,000 Btus to about 8,900 Btus. But the report goes on to state that energy efficiency “is the most invisible, the least understood, and in serious danger of missing out on needed future investments.
The ACEEE study found that with the right choices and investments in the many cost-effective but underutilized energy efficiency technologies, the United States can cost-effectively reduce energy consumption by an additional 25-30% or more over the course of the next 20-25 years. For those concerned about job loss, the study found that “annual investments in energy efficiency technologies currently support 1.6 million U.S. jobs.”
Energy efficiency also has far reaching implications for complying with climate change legislation such as California’s AB32 , the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. According to Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, "Energy efficiency is the most promising means to reduce greenhouse gases in the short term."
Green building and energy efficiency strategies are complementary. According to a report prepared by the non-profit New Buildings Institute , and funded by the USGBC with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, projects certified by the LEED program average substantial energy performance improvement over non-LEED building stock.
The study, entitled Energy Performance of LEED® for New Construction Buildings, analyzed measured-energy performance for 121 LEED-NC buildings using three different metrics: Energy Use Intensity comparison of LEED and national building stock; Energy Star ratings of LEED buildings; and measured results compared to initial design and baseline modeling. Each of the three views of building performance show average LEED energy use 25 to 30% better than the national average, a level similar to that anticipated by LEED modeling. Average savings increase for the higher LEED levels, with Gold/Platinum buildings approaching the interim goal of Architecture 2030 . A copy of the 46-page report is available on the USGBC website .
Energy remains an important topic at the local level. Recently, the Chapter sent out an urgent legislative alert asking members to publicly support several green building bills pending in Sacramento. The common theme among all six bills was energy. They ranged from revising building energy efficiency standards (AB1065) to requiring zero net energy buildings (AB2112) to requiring energy audits (AB 2309 and AB2678). In addition, AB2916 would require that all buildings owned or leased by the state meet LEED Gold, while AB2939 would authorize local governments to implement local green building standards, provided they are not less stringent than the State’s.
Efficient use of energy in our buildings, our homes, and our modes of transportation is the first step in tackling climate change.
Jeff Stephens may be contacted via e-mail at jeff@planetrelations.com.
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