Buildings contribute significantly to the anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas. This session aims to place buildings within the larger context of energy end use distribution on a local, national and global scale. An overview of energy sources and the energy demands created by buildings, along with a sketch of the carbon loading implications of energy use, will help set the stage for the Energy Petal series. This session will review the energy elements of the Living Building Challenge (i.e., the definition of Net Zero Energy, documentation requirements, and resources). It will also provide an overview of how integrated design is central to attaining the aggressive energy savings needed to achieve net zero energy.

Although it is not required to take the sessions in the Energy Petal in sequence, the curriculum does build on itself and participants are strongly encouraged to experience sessions sequentially to fully engage the learning material.

We will be offering this session again in 2009 if you missed the live session in June, 2008. Sessions are $75 for Cascadia members and $90 for nonmembers.

References:

Information on the 2030 challenge, and the context of buildings and CO2 emissions

Research on building performance issues, links to the GT50 database of efficient buildings

Lots of general information about energy sources, cost, and use in the US

Case studies of net zero energy buildings

Case studies of a range of high performance buildings

Great resource for reports and information on net zero and alternative energy issues

Energy performance data on the national building stock

Presenters:

Mark Frankel