My Net-Zero Reading List

I’ve been doing a little reading this last week about net-zero energy buildings. USGNN.com ran a story on August 14 about the pending legislation that would require net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2050 (the House has passed this bill and now it sits waiting for the Senate) – you can see that story HERE. The term net-zero energy is used because it isn’t that these buildings don’t use any energy at all, they just don’t use more energy than they’re able to produce. What I’ve found so exciting is that in every article about this that I’ve read, glass and window performance is featured prominently.

The technology needed to create these net-zero buildings doesn’t just involve ways of creating energy, such as through solar power. It also involves limiting the amount of energy that is used. It’s the same emphasis on energy efficiency but to a whole new level.

I asked in an earlier post if you think net-zero energy buildings are really attainable. But it seems like many people out there do in fact think this is possible – the designers of Integrated Design Associates’ (IDeAs) new corporate headquarters, for instance. Check out the IDeAs Z2 Design Facility, a very real net-zero building, HERE and notice how prominently daylighting and “advanced glazing” are featured on the website.

One of many interesting facts about this building is that it was actually a remodel—so individuals who believe that net-zero energy may be attainable in new construction but not retrofits may lose some of their argument after reading about this project.

Kim Swanson with EHDD Architecture, the firm that helped to design the remodel, explained to me during a recent conversation that the building started out as a concrete block that had few to no windows. “Part of getting the zero-energy is getting some daylight,” Swanson said. So the first step for EHDD was cutting into the concrete on the south façade to create room for a full wall of sliding glass doors.

The building also now sports a number of skylights. “We cut a dozen or so skylights into the existing roof also … so we could rely on daylight as much as possible,” Swanson said.

In addition to high performance glass throughout, the building also features electrochromic glass on its East façade.

Daylighting and electrochromic – those words pop up frequently in articles about net-zero energy buildings. But in what other ways can the glass industry contribute to these requirements and make net-zero energy a reality? Post your comments on this blog or feel free to drop me a line at mheadley@glass.com. Or share what you’re reading these days and see if that makes it into next week’s blog!