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Customer application May 10, 2023

Four Strategies for Decarbonization, Electrification in Commercial Buildings

Written by Bill Kosik

Tap into state efficiency programs to reduce energy consumption of air handling systems.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discover what role commercial buildings have in carbon dioxide emissions and the resulting impact on climate change.
  • Understand how state energy plans are structured and learn about energy-efficiency incentive programs.
  • Get a more in-depth understanding of the different approaches on using technical resources manuals and the energy-efficiency measures.
  • Learn about specific energy-efficiency measures used in incentive programs for air handling systems and equipment.

Energy efficiency insights

  • Commercial buildings account for 35% of all electricity use in the U.S and 16% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. And according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted.

  • Furthermore, in commercial office buildings the heating and cooling systems, a majority of which consists of air-handling equipment, more energy for air conditioning is consumed than any other building type.

Decarbonization efforts are a critical part in meeting the goals pledged by President Biden during the 2021 Leaders Summit on Climate — reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 and net-zero by 2050 (2005 emissions as basis).

The U.S. Department of Energy decarbonization roadmap is a set of strategies including energy efficiency, clean energy supply, clean fuel sources and direct air capture of carbon. Of these strategies, energy efficiency is the “beginning of the pipe,” improving efficiency which reduces the need for clean energy and fuel and results in lower carbon emissions. Energy efficiency is vital in the world’s journey to net zero and keeping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Energy Agency (IEA), nicknamed it “the first fuel.”

To develop actional processes and to reinforce the importance of energy efficiency, the New Building Institute (NBI) published the “Existing Building Decarbonization Code.” According to the NBI, the code is “… a new way for jurisdictions to reduce carbon emissions and meet Climate Action Plan and public health and equity goals. The need to address existing building stock is great, with 5.9 million existing commercial buildings in the U.S. comprising 97 billion square feet”.

Electrification of buildings

Electrification is a strategy that falls under the decarbonization umbrella. It can play a major role in reducing the carbon emissions from commercial buildings when the source grid is sufficiently clean. In 2020, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy produced a study that showed commercial buildings that replace their gas-burning heating systems with electric heat pumps could reduce their total greenhouse emissions by 44%.

Commercial buildings account for 35% of all electricity use in the U.S and 16% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. And according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Furthermore, in commercial office buildings, the heating and cooling systems, including air handling equipment, consume more energy for air conditioning than any other building type.

The good news is that energy use in commercial buildings continues to drop. The data show that from 2018 the energy use intensity has decreased by 12% (see Figure 1).

Electricity Consumption.png

Figure 1: In the reference case, commercial buildings will expand by 34% on a square footage basis. Office buildings consume more energy for air conditioning than any other building type, accounting for 25% of the energy consumed for air conditioning in the U.S. commercial sector in 2050. Courtesy: Bill Kosik