ASHRAE wrapped up its Net-Zero Energy Conference
here in San Francisco. I was fortunate to attend some of the educational
sessions during this three-day conference, which ran from March 29-31 at the
Fisherman’s Wharf Hyatt.
ASHRAE wrapped up its Net-Zero Energy Conference
here in San Francisco. I was fortunate to attend some of the educational
sessions during this three-day conference, which ran from March 29-31 at the
Fisherman’s Wharf Hyatt.
Snips will have full coverage of
the event in its July issue, which is dedicated to green building and
sustainability. Hopefully, you’ll learn a thing or two when the article is in
print. I know I definitely learned a few things.
The
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has
been working overtime to make net-zero energy facilities a reality. One way to
classify a net-zero building are those building that annually use no more
energy from the utility grid than is provided by on-site renewable energy
sources.
ASHRAE officials recognize that they have their
work cut out for them when it comes to finding net-zero energy solutions. The
Department of Energy has called for all new commercial buildings constructed in
the United States to be net zero by 2030. And by 2050, all commercial buildings
need to be net zero.
The conference illustrated that this is
going to be a difficult task. But it’s not impossible. The conference speakers
had a lot to say about the challenges involved in constructing these net-zero
facilities. But for every challenge discussed, there was a glimmer of hope.
There are already a total of seven net-zero buildings in existence. And
research on the concept is finding new technologies and solutions.
If there was one thing I took away from this conference, it
was the realization that net-zero energy buildings may actually be a reality.
It may be 20 or 30 years down the line, but the United States may be on its way
to drastically reducing its energy use in buildings. And if that happens, you
can thank ASHRAE officials.
