Commercial Buildings as Clean Domestic Energy Assets by 2025? DOE’s Roadmap for a Net-zero Energy Built Environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13052/dgaej2156-3306.2523Abstract
A net-zero energy building (NZEB) is a highly energy-efficient
residential or commercial building that, over the course of a year, uses
renewable technology to produce as much energy as it consumes from
the grid. In the commercial sector, building owners and tenants stand to
realize attractive returns on their NZEB investments while reducing their
carbon footprints. Considering that buildings are our nation’s highest
energy-consuming and carbon-emitting sector, NZEBs have a vital role
in reducing U.S. energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
This article outlines the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) goals
for the energy use by our nation’s commercial buildings, the research
and development (R&D) efforts most critical to realizing NZEBs, and
DOE’s strategy of collaborating with the private sector to speed the ar-
rival of NZEBs in the marketplace.
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References
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amounts in space heating and refrigeration.
