As of June 2024 there us a definition of a Zero Emissions Building and why does it matter?

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked with industry stakeholder to define a zero emissions building as:

“A building that is highly energy efficient, does not emit greenhouse gases directly from energy use, and is powered solely by clean energy.”

Let’s break it down:

‘highly energy efficient’ = An existing building with an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher and a new construction building with an ENERGY STAR score of 90 or higher.

‘does not emit greenhouse gases’ = An all-electric building.

‘powered solely by clean energy’ = 100% renewable energy supplied from a combination of on-site and off-site sources.

The building industry now has one name and definition to point to!

Check out the article ENERGY EFFICIENCY & RENEWABLE ENERGY