This document summarizes findings from the 2014 Net Zero Energy Status Report on commercial buildings. It reports that 160 net zero energy projects were verified from 2012 to 2014, with most located in California. Building types included education, renovations, districts, and multi-family housing. The majority of buildings were under 25,000 square feet. Achieving net zero energy is shown to be possible in different climates using readily available and emerging technologies that lower energy use and solar PV costs. Operations and tenant energy use are important factors downstream.

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Cathy Higgins
NBI Research Director
Getting to Zero:
The 2014 Net Zero Energy Status Report
Findings for Commercial Buildings
Amy Cortese, Cathy Higgins and Mark Lyles

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Transform the World

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Number of ZNE Projects
2012 to 2014
160 ZNEZNE Registry
+ 40 more
Pending

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Locations of 160 ZNE Buildings
California ZNE Count in the Status Report:
10 Verified + 37 Emerging = 47 Total

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Sizes of ZNE Buildings
63% of buildings are < 25,000 square feet (sf)
and 18% are > 100,000 sf

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ZNE Building Types
• 36% Education
• 24% Renovations
• 18 Districts
• 12 Multi-family
• Increase in Private Sector

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Walgreens
IBEW 595
Solterra
Sokol Blosser Winery
PNC Bank
Morphosis Architects
Melink Corp.
McCormick Spices & Co.
Hines
Domus Development
Kaiser Permanente
Hanover Page Mill Associates
Green Leaf Inn
Georgia Peanut Commission
Frito-LayTD Bank
DPR Construction
States & Cities: CA, CO, DC, MA, MN,
NY, NM, VT, WA, Seattle, Austin
The European Union
British Columbia, Canada
Adobe
Honda
KB Homes
JC Johnson Co.
3C Company
Hewlett Packard
TNT Express
Bubbly Dynamics
Walt Disney
Bayer
Who is going to Zero?

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Packard Building Energy Model
CA Title 24
EUI = 50
Courtesy: EHDD
kBtu/sf/yr
kWhs/sf/yr
Actual
Performance

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Bullitt Center HVAC Overview
Courtesy: PAE Consulting Engineers
Passive Solutions First
Decoupling Space Conditioning from Ventilation
Moving away from forced air

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Plug Load Strategies
Courtesy T. Hootman RNL Design, S. Pleiss NREL

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©NewBuildingsInstitute
Walgreens Evanston Store
14,000 sf - Opened April ‘14
Efficiency Measures:
• Building massing (geometry and
orientation)
• Excellent insulation and windows
• Exterior shading, automated interior
shades & operable windows
• Dedicated outside air ventilation system
• Demand ventilation controls
• All LED lighting
• Daylight harvesting controls
• Refrigerated case doors
• Heat recovery from refrigeration
systems
• Ground source (geothermal) heat pump
heating and cooling
• Natural (CO2) refrigerant
• Solar PV & Wind turbine

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8,116 stores
120,000,000 sf
28W to 25W just one modest lamp change
$765/year/store energy savings
$765 x 8,116 = $6,208,740!
Scale Matters

13. HVAC on Display through
Clear Wall

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Redding School for the Arts, CA
Courtesy : Trilogy Architecture Steve Whittaker Photography
Teaching more than students

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Performance Range - Education
Average for all verified
Education buildings = 70%
below the national average
Energy Use Intensity (EUI) kBtus/sf/yr

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Transformation

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ZNE Take Aways
• Emerging movement
• Achievable with readily available and emerging
technology in all US climates
• High performance first – lower energy use lowers
PV cost
• District, community, campus level offer cost and
scaling efficiencies
• The energy use downstream of design is critical with
operations and tenants
Nothing beats Zero

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Questions - Discussion
Your thoughts on
Pathways to Zero:
Proof – Program - Policy