- Author
- Pellegrino, J. L. | Fanney, A. H. | Bushby, S. T. | Domanski, P. A. | Healy, W. M. | Persily, A. K.
- Title
- Measurement Science Roadmap for Net-Zero Energy Buildings. Workshop Summary Report.
- Coporate
- Energetics Incorporated National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NIST TN 1660; NIST Technical Note 1660, March 2010, 84 p.
- Keywords
- energy buildings | energy products | intelligent buildings | whole buildings | building envelope | building equipment
- Identifiers
- onsite energy production
- Abstract
- Buildings account for nearly a third of the world's energy use today, and this share is expected to rise along with population growth and levels of prosperity. In the United States, residential and commercial buildings consumed about 40% of primary energy use, or about 38.7 quadrillion BTUs (40.8 exajoules) in 2008. Buildings today account for about 73% of electricity and 55% of natural gas consumption in the United States. In 2006, residential and commercial buildings were responsible for 58% and 42%, respectively, of the $392 billion U.S. building energy expenditures. (DOE 2009, DOE 2009a). Net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) -- buildings that produce as much energy as they consume over a defined period -- offer the potential to substantially decrease building energy use and enable buildings to become energy self-sufficient. Achieving the vision of net-zero energy buildings will require the pursuit of multiple strategies, including development of new, cost-effective technologies and practices, integration of renewable energy into building designs, and adoption of innovative strategies for using energy and resources. A national goal has been set to achieve net-zero energy in 50% of U.S. commercial buildings by 2050 (DOE 2010). PREFACE: This report summarizes the results of the Measurement Science for Net-Zero Energy Buildings Workshop held on October 29, 2009 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This effort supports and responds to the Federal Research and Development Agenda for Net-Zero Energy, High-Performance Green Buildings, issued by the National Science and Technology Council in October 2008 (NSTC 2008). Advances in measurement science are called out by the NSTC report as being critical to achieving the future promise of net-zero energy buildings.