A Farewell to Fossil Fuels: Answering the Energy Challenge

In this article published in Foreign Affairs, Amory Lovins describes a U.S. transition from fossil fuels--a blueprint detailed in Reinventing Fire-- that requires pursuing transformational change in automotive efficiency, design of buildings and factories, and the electric system.

 

Working Together for Sustainability: The RMI-BOMA Guide for Landlords and Tenants

This guide provides a framework for instituting cooperative and productive relationships between building landlords and tenants and seeks to address some of the non-technological barriers to energy efficiency, such as split incentives, tenant behavior, and transparency.

 

GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge Charrette

This report summarizes the discussion in and outcomes of the GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge Charrette.

 

Green Footstep: Calculations and Data Sources

Green Footstep is an online assessment tool for reducing carbon emissions from building construction projects and is publicly available at greenfootstep.org. The Green Footstep tool guides the user through the process of life cycle carbon assessment, and then reveals how users can theoretically reduce the net carbon emissions. Some description of the calculation method is provided on the website; however the calculations and data sources are not provided in detail. This paper provides these calculations and data sources in order to make the Green Footstep methodology completely accessible to the general public.

 

Reinventing Fire Buildings Sector Methodology

This document provides RMI's methodology for the analysis of the buildings sector in Reinventing Fire.

 

BEM Summit Pre-read

This document was written as preparatory material for all Building Energy Modeling (BEM) Innovation Summit attendees prior to the actual event.  The purpose of this document was to provide all attendees with an understanding of the history and current state of the energy modeling industry within the United States. Specifically, this Pre-Read document: - Begins to identify a vision for the future of energy modeling and identify gaps between that vision and the current state; - Identifies gaps and barriers within the energy modeling sector to support the development of the agenda for the summit; and - Saved time at the summit by getting everyone on the same page in terms of background knowledge and serving as an information source during the breakout groups.

 

Going Deeper: A New Approach for Encouraging Retrofits

This paper describes a new approach to demand-side management that promotes whole-building projects and encourages owners, energy service providers, and utilities to work together for significant energy savings.

 

Achieving Passivhaus Standard in North America: Lessons Learned

This paper will introduce and explore the Passive House standard design approach and requirements as well as demonstrate its application to new and retrofit projects in the North American context. Drawing from expertise on the early Passive House projects in the US and Germany, as well as on the ground experience of more recent successful and unsuccessful Passive House projects in North America, a journey toward the best practices in design application, cost and certification will be discussed. A brief review of the various products and systems incorporated in North American projects to meet the aggressive requirements of the passive house standard will also be introduced.

 

Deep Energy Retrofit of Commercial Buildings: A Key Pathway Toward Low-Carbon Cities

Energy efficiency of commercial buildings is a fundamental part of the solution for developing low carbon cities worldwide. Existing commercial buildings consume significant energy, as well as presenting great requirements and opportunities for energy-efficient retrofits. This article introduces an approach to commercial building retrofits that achieve large energy savings with attractive economics. A case study is used to illustrate the procedure of conducting deep retrofits of large commercial buildings. The article also presents a ‘pilot-to-portfolio’ approach that can amplify outcomes of single building retrofit to buildings within the same portfolio.

 

Autodesk AEC Headquarters and Integrated Project Delivery: Factor Ten Engineering Case Study

This paper describes the design and construction of Autodesk’s Headquarters building. The building was a “triple win”: design and construction costs were below target (benefiting both the design-build team and owner); designer and contractor profits exceeded targets; and the building achieved LEED-CI Platinum and all other goals. The building demonstrates several principles of factor-ten engineering.

 

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