OGDEN, Utah – With the new administration’s robust focus on energy policy, energy efficiency efforts have taken on momentum around the US. In 2050, roughly half the US building stock will be buildings that are standing today. While new buildings will be constructed, we will also need to substantially reduce energy use and emissions from existing buildings. Typical building retrofits reduce energy use by 10-25%, but deep retrofits save at least 30% and sometimes more than 50%. To green a building is to increase the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials and of reducing impacts on human health and the environment for the entire lifecycle of a building.
Green-building concepts extend beyond the walls of buildings and include site planning, community, and land-use planning issues as well.
In the US, according to data from the Green Built Alliance, buildings account for:
- 39% of total energy use
- 68% of total electricity consumption
- 30% of landfill waste
- 38% of carbon dioxide emissions
- 12% of total water consumption
While we here at CleanTechnica have an affinity for electric vehicles, we also really respect the potential of energy efficiency to mitigate the climate crisis. Greening a building through energy and water efficiency is the fastest, most effective way to cut our pollution while saving money at the same time.