Buildings
The Opportunity to Save Money, Energy, and Carbon With Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings
This blog coincides with the launch of Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI’s) latest report, Value Potential for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings in the GSA Portfolio: A Cost-Benefit Analysis. The report provides lessons that could help any building owner to unlock the cost-, energy-, and carbon-savings potential of grid-interactive efficient buildings and…
How Many Hours-of-Safety Do Our Homes Have in Extreme Weather?
How many people in your community are at risk during extreme weather events? The heat waves wracking the nation right now can cause heat exhaustion, heatstroke, dehydration, and even death. Last year over 90 people died in Quebec (over 50 in Montreal) due to a heat wave. And during…
Getting the Facts Right: Clean, Electric Buildings Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions AND Save Money in New Construction
Replacing the burning of fossil fuels in our residential and commercial buildings with clean electricity is a crucial step to protecting public health and eliminating climate pollution. Multiple studies, including RMI’s The Economics of Electrifying Buildings and E3’s Residential Building Electrification in California, have shown that using efficient…
An Affordable, Net-Zero, All-Electric Community in the Colorado Rockies
Last week the Rocky Mountain Institute Basalt office (and two of our Boulder colleagues) had an amazing opportunity. We were able to volunteer to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity. But these weren’t just regular houses. These are in the first affordable, net-zero, and all-electric housing project in Western…
Cities Hold the Keys to Greener, More Efficient Homes
Our homes may be a source of safety, comfort, and stability—but they also represent a considerable slice of our country’s carbon emissions (19 percent, according to the latest estimate from the US Energy Information Administration). Addressing this piece of our energy system is essential to achieving our climate goals. Perhaps…