As ARRA funds start to trickle out across the country, it’s clear that some communities are enthusiastically embracing the chance to significantly shift the use and distribution of resources away from “business as usual” programs and towards projects focused on efficiency and reliability. In Massachusetts for example, $15 million in ARRA funds have been earmarked for the promotion and construction of high-performance buildings (schools, hospitals, etc). The state hopes that these “super-energy-efficient” buildings will simultaneously reduce energy use and decrease dependence on fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources.
Traditionally, a building’s outer shell—its “envelope”—was merely expected to provide shelter to its inhabitants and provide protection from the elements. Over time, it became clear that creating and regulating an indoor environment came with its own set of energy-intensive challenges, including temperature control, air circulation, and lighting. Because many existing structures were not necessarily built with energy efficiency in mind, their very design is an extra hurdle to be overcome—especially the “Achilles’ heel” where the windows and walls meet, an area ripe for temperature loss due to the complex interface between varying geometries, systems, and materials. In fact, this area of vulnerability is often a breeding ground for air leakage, exterior moisture infiltration and overall envelope failure—all of which contribute to corrosion, increased HVAC loads and 40% of all occupant health and comfort issues.
Which is why it makes sense to focus on “smart” buildings designed (and retrofitted) holistically so that resources are used and managed efficiently. According to research conducted by the Building America Research Team (a group of private interests, state, and local governments, national laboratories, and universities brought together by the Department of Energy to conduct research and develop energy-efficient building technologies), high-performance buildings building envelopes can “significantly improve energy efficiency.” By creating a thermal barrier that regulates the building’s indoor environment, smaller, smarter HVAC systems can be paired with onsite power systems, thereby reducing the overall power requirements of any given facility.
What do you think? Do these high-performance buildings represent the next stage in energy efficiency? And with a nation full of drafty, aging structures that are perennial energy sinkholes, are building envelope retrofits the anwer?
Click here for more on the program in Massachusetts