Buildings are the Foundation for Decarbonization
By: 2022 Chicago Fellow Gabrielle A. Long
Building electrification and energy efficiency are key to decarbonization. To reach decarbonization goals, I believe there need to be policies created to mandate building electrification and mandate the use of various Energy Efficiency (EE) measures in both commercial and residential buildings. Increased building electrification will undoubtedly impact the environment and global emissions positively. However, progress toward reaching the goal of being carbon-free by 2050 has been slow as some EE measures can be costly, especially on a non-commercial level. However, leveraging the business benefits of EE in construction will, hopefully, lead to more engagement.
Energy Efficiency and Building Electrification
EE plays a critical role in climate change and has many positive benefits for the environment. In addition to climate change and benefits to the environment, EE measures in builds can create various incentives for consumers such as saving money on utility bills, reducing maintenance costs, and increasing energy resilience in buildings that use backup generators in buildings that require them during natural disasters.
While EE measures may play an integral role in helping us reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, there are some barriers to considering what type of EE measures to implement. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) noted that climate affects what EE measures work well in buildings, even though some EE measures work well in any climate. The goal is to implement the best EE measure for the characteristics of the climate in the region and the type of building. Tailoring the measures will allow for the best possible outcome.
Building Electrification is not a new concept, but there is a renewed interest in the energy industry since it includes EE measures that will allow the world to meet its clean energy goals. Currently, buildings run on electricity and consume fossil fuels. With building electrification, there will be less reliance on fossil fuels. This is huge because fossil fuels make buildings one of the largest sources of pollution. In the United States, buildings account for about 40 percent of the country’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and nearly half of all homes rely on natural gas as their primary heating fuel.
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The California Public Utilities Commission developed a five-step framework to illustrate how current goals of building electrification can align and produce healthy homes, create high-quality, local jobs, and establish connections between residents and climate change policies and goals. The five steps are listed below:
- Assess the Communities’ Needs
- Establish Community-Led Decision Making
- Develop Metrics and a Plan for Tracking
- Ensure Funding and Program Leveraging
- Improve Outcomes
I agree that steps one and two are the most important in the process of building electrification. It is common for communities, especially uninformed communities, to be skeptical of companies pitching energy efficiency. When assessing communities’ needs, it is important to understand and recognize that community members and residents have varying knowledge of building electrification and who are perfectly okay with maintaining the status quo. With respect to step two, it is important to have community input and engagement to not only build trust within the community, but to also increase the likelihood of successful program design, ensure local buy-in, and deliver tangible benefits to the intended beneficiaries. If other states took the framework that has been developed by California, there may be increased interest in building electrification and home decarbonization.
Benefits of Building Electrification
One technology that can be used for building electrification is the heat pump. Heat pumps use electricity to send heat where it is needed and remove it from where it is not needed. They are an attractive technology because it is a two-for-one benefit allowing both heating and air conditioning from the same unit. As an added bonus, heat pumps work in both moderate and colder temperatures. In addition to heat pumps, other EE measures are available. When retrofitting old buildings and building new ones, adequate insulation and sealing both can trap heat in the colder climates and release it during the warmer parts of the year. Also, changes to the types of windows and doors have the same benefit.
In addition to a technological benefit, there is a health benefit associated with building electrification. A 2021 Report by RMI stated that in the United States, 26 million low-income households burn costly, health-damaging, and climate-disrupting fossil fuels inside their homes. While the negative environmental impacts are often the source of arguments for building electrification, the indoor environment’s safety, and health-harming factors are not always discussed as much as environmental impacts. Appliances like water heaters, furnaces, stoves, ovens, dryers, and gas fireplaces emit harmful pollutants which can pose both short- and long-term serious health impacts on consumers. Electrification in low-income communities will help reduce or even eliminate the harmful health impacts of pollutants and will contribute to the overall goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Conclusion
Not only does the implementation of EE measures and building electrification benefit the environment, but it benefits the overall well-being of consumers. I am a firm believer that following the communities’ lead when developing plans for building electrification and meeting consumers where they are when it comes to their knowledge about energy efficiency in buildings will increase engagement and reduce the pushback from leaving behind the status quo. Smart buildings, retrofitting old buildings, and new construction are major steps that consumers of energy can take to take better care of Earth and improve the overall quality of life, by reducing the use of fossil fuels and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
