Looking beyond sustainable buildings and LEED ratings, net zero buildings that produce all of the energy they need, is the next big thing for the construction market. Earlier this year, Pike Research released a report called “Zero Energy Buildings: Global Market, Regulatory, and Technology Analysis for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Commercial and Residential Buildings,” indicating that worldwide revenue from net zero construction will reach almost $690 billion by 2020 and nearly $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Currently, there are three projects that have received full certification under the Living Building Challenge, with four more having been certified through the International Living Future Institute’s Net Zero Energy Building Certification (see sidebar) and Petal Recognition programs. There are approximately 140 projects currently registered with the Challenge, and at various stages in the process, according to Sarah Costello, vice president, development and communications at the Portland, Ore.-based International Living Future Institute. Of those, 14 projects are currently in the process of completing the 12-month post-construction occupancy period required before beginning the certification process.
Costello says that they are aware that there are more cases around the world, where projects are already providing modern performance levels while relying on current solar income. These projects are being actively sought out, in hopes of verifying their performance and sharing their strategies with a wider community. “Each of these projects inspires others to take the leap and commit to this ambitious performance level,” she notes. “We believe that Pike Research has identified that most important trend in the building industry and that over the coming years, net zero will become standard in many project types.”
Greenest of the Green 
While there are only a handful of certified net zero buildings so far, the 24,350-square-foot Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh is one of the greenest buildings in the world. Completed this past spring, the center is expected to meet the Living Building Challenge, U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum certification and Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) certification for landscapes.
Executive Director Richard Piacentini explains that after the completion of the center’s Tropical Forest Conservatory, when [the board] started thinking about phase three of its sustainable building project, “we found ourselves thinking in systems and looking at how each building, and everything we do, interacts with other buildings, activities and the environment.”
The project generates all of its own energy through a vertical axis wind turbine, photovoltaic solar panels and geothermal wells, in addition to taking advantage of passive cooling, heating and lighting methods. Per square foot, its total annual energy consumption is projected to be 80 percent less than that of an average office building and 63 percent less than an average household.
Additionally, the CSL will capture, treat and reuse all water on site, and features a green roof, lagoon, rain gardens, permeable paved surfaces, constructed wetlands and a water distillation system.
“[Net zero] is where we need to go in the future so that everyone on the planet can enjoy a higher and better standard of living, with a minimal negative impact on the planet and the other species that we share it with,” Piacentini says.
A Company Initiative
One of the companies taking advantage of the move towards net zero is Deland, Fla.-based Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc. The company’s long-term mission is to see all its facilities achieve net zero energy consumption by 2020. To do that, Kingspan introduced a Net Zero Energy Initiative across all its groups. The plan includes moving five Kingspan plants and three Morin plants all toward net zero. “The Net Zero Energy Initiative not only makes good business sense for Kingspan and showcases some of our renewable products, but it also provides a road map for our customers and industry on how to develop and achieve a net zero energy goal,” says Paul Bertram Jr., FCSI, CDT, LEED AP, Kingspan’s director of environment and sustainability.
“The primary advantage of the net zero strategy is the opportunity to reduce our environmental footprint with the goal of producing as much energy as used,” Bertram explains. Through the company’s ISO-compliant Life Cycle Assessment program it tracks all energy-related environmental impacts of the manufacturing processes, including those tied back to the grid. “Ultimately, there is potential for long-term cost benefits,” he says.
Bertram says the first challenge to the strategy is defining what the goal and scope includes. This begins with an energy audit that provides a baseline to develop a plan for meeting the net zero energy goals. “Net zero energy is more possible with new construction of buildings, but there is definitely a challenge in this goal for existing manufacturing operations,” he says. “Starting with lighting, equipment and building automated controls, designated equipment updates one might expect 10 to 20 percent improvements to the baseline.
“After that step, renewables-including solar, geothermal, wind, CHP [combined heat and power], cogeneration and other advance strategies-are considered through a life cycle costing exercise. Final options, including green power and renewable energy credits, are also considered.”
Bertram explains that Kingspan’s Net Zero Initiative is part of the company’s commitment to sustainable design and manufacturing strategies, including dedicated resources to ensure environmental and socially responsible safe and healthy environments.
Looking Forward
As more and more people and companies become familiar with net zero and all of its benefits, we will start to see more projects going in that direction. Some companies are already starting to see an increase in net zero projects. Michael Deane, LEED AP BD+C, vice president and chief sustainability officer at Turner Construction Co., New York City, notes that the company has seen an increase in energy efficiency in its highest performing buildings over the last several years.
He adds that there are currently six projects in Turner’s portfolio seeking net zero energy. Of those, three have already completed construction. “We believe that they are going to achieve net zero, that they are designed for that,” he says. “And if they are operated correctly, they should achieve that. And I expect we will see more and more buildings like that as time goes on.”
*Photos from top: Copyright Paul G. Wiegman, Andropogon Associates, Denmarsh Photography Inc.
Net Zero Energy Building Certification
In November 2011, the International Living Future Institute launched a new net zero energy building certification for buildings that achieve net zero energy. According to Sarah Costello, vice president, development and communications at the International Living Future Institute, Portland, Ore., the net zero energy building certification grew out of a “desire to provide a reliable third-party verification for the growing number of project that are claiming to have achieved net zero energy performance.”
She says that the process not only ensures that projects have been performing as well as predicted, but it creates a central repository for information about the world’s most advanced projects in terms of energy performance. “Our belief is that by identifying and verifying all of the projects that have actually achieved net zero performance, we spur the increased adoption of advanced energy practices, triggering a major leap forward throughout the building industry.”
Costello goes on to say that the “Net Zero Energy Building Certification also recognizes that while all of the elements of the Living Building Challenge are critical to the restoration of our over-taxed ecosystems, climate change has created particular urgency around the issue of energy. If we can eliminate the use of fossil fuels to power our built environment, we can take a major step toward averting the worst effects of climate change.”
To be certified under the Living Building Challenge, there are 20 imperatives grouped into seven categories, or petals-site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty-that a project must meet. For Net Zero Energy Certification, projects are required to address five of the Living Building Challenge’s imperatives:
- Limits to Growth (in part): Curbs the building’s contribution to the effects of sprawled development, which undermines the positive impact of achieving net zero energy building operation.
- Net Zero Energy: Serves as the primary focus of Net Zero Energy Building Certification.
- Rights to Nature: Ensures that the building does not preclude another building from achieving net zero energy operation as a result of excessive shading.
- Beauty + Spirit: Underscore the notion that renewable energy systems can be incorporated into a building in ways that are attractive and inspiring.
- Inspiration + Education: As with Beauty + Spirit, this requirement ensures that projects offer points of connection for the people who will interact with them.
By definition, all projects that achieve full certification under the Living Building Challenge are performing at net zero energy. “This newer program allows us to spotlight projects that choose to focus on one critical aspect of our larger goal: bringing the built environment into a positive relationship with the ecosystems it inhabits,” Costello says.
To learn more, visit www.living-future.org/netzero.