CitiesGoGreen -September 2008 - (Page 21) The Spectrum of High Performance Buildings “Buildings are the single largest contributor to global warming and account for almost half of all CO2 emissions.” — U.S. Energy Information Administration Because buildings are responsible for about two-thirds of U.S. electricity consumption and nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, cities wanting to go green have no choice but to take a hard look at their policies related to commercial building within the community as well as their own design and operational practices. With this article, CitiesGoGreen starts a series focusing on high performance building in which we’ll examine the challenges and benefits for cities that adopt and promote the practice. We will report on the aspects of low-energy commercial buildings related to cities, including political leadership, technologies, design strategies and policies. The series will also offer profiles of building projects—and the people behind them —including what worked and what didn’t when goals were not met. High Performance Buildings by Stacey Hobart Introducing a series of articles on High Performance Buildings. Fewer than one in 1000 new buildings meet readily achievable high performance standards. Cities and counties can start improving this score by understanding the high performance building continuum. A ‘ s large property owners and civic leaders, cities are in a unique position to make something happen in high performance buildings,” said Dave Hewitt, executive director at New Buildings Institute (NBI). “And many of them already have or are getting ready to.” High performance is the segment of green building that focuses on how efficiently a building uses energy. It’s no secret that while many aspects of green building provide environmental benefits, high performance offers the best opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. There are large economic benefits, too, in avoided energy costs and minimized exposure to the volatility of energy markets. Recent increases in oil prices will inevitably be followed by a rise in the price of other energy commodities—natural gas and electricity. High performance buildings hedge this risk by reducing exposure to fluctuations in the cost of power. The Energy Information Administration’s projections for the cost of oil were so far off in 2005 that the agency refigured its numbers in 2006. Those estimates, which peaked at about $55 a barrel, were also woefully low as oil per barrel today is nearly $140. The price of other energy commodities such as natural gas and electricity will also rise with oil. September 2008 .com 21 http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/108-high-efficiency-buildings-1 http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/108-high-efficiency-buildings-1 http://www.citiesgogreen.com/component/content/article/42-september-2008/108-high-efficiency-buildings-1 http://CitiesGoGreen.com
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