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Today the Energy Department launched the Better Buildings Zero Energy Schools Accelerator with new partners including six school districts, two states and several national organizations who will be working collaboratively to develop zero energy design that is cost-competitive to conventional construction in the education sector and in local communities across the nation.  A Zero Energy Building is an energy-efficient building, where on a source energy basis, the actual delivered energy is less than or equal to the onsite renewable exported energy.

In conjunction with the launch, Energy Department officials joined other key stakeholders today to tour Discovery Elementary School, a Zero Energy school located near the nation’s capital in Arlington, Virginia, which officially opened its doors in September 2015. Discovery’s engineering team expects to offset its energy usage with renewable energy and to potentially save about $75,000 within its first year of operation. Discovery Elementary is one of 40 emerging Zero Energy ready schools in the U.S., and was built with advanced next generation energy efficiency and renewable power features, including solar rooftop and geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National League of Cities launched the Better Buildings Zero Energy Districts Accelerator to move the building market toward adopting sustainable practices to help districts achieve zero energy use in buildings. Zero Energy Districts are comprised of multi-purpose energy-efficient buildings, where the annual energy delivered to buildings is less than or equal to on-site renewable exported energy.

The Energy Department’s Better Buildings Challenge program recognized University of California, Berkeley for its leadership in energy efficiency. The University achieved 65 percent energy savings at its Jacobs Hall facility, the College of Engineering’s interdisciplinary hub where students and teachers from across the university work at the intersection of design and technology. Through its Energy Management Initiative (EMI)—an innovative approach to linking energy costs to building occupants—UC Berkeley has achieved campus-wide energy savings of $6.5 million and now has a practice in place to help benchmark energy performance in its buildings.

As part of Smart Cities Week, the White House recently announced a new Energy Department-led Smart Energy Analytics Campaign to encourage the use of cost-effective, energy-saving building analytics platforms – also known as energy management information systems technologies (EMIS) – in commercial buildings nationwide, and refine best practices. Energy management information system (EMIS) technologies are a broad group of smart energy management tools that help monitor, analyze and control building energy use and system performance. EMIS can achieve 10-20 percent energy savings in a single commercial building. If these best practices were adopted by all commercial buildings in the nation, more than $4 billion in cost savings could be achieved.

The campaign is also meant to help building operators use analytics for overall long-term energy management and better building performance. The initial goal is to engage commercial building owners and operators to use smart energy analytics in 80 million square feet of floor space. Already the 18 partners represent a total of 1,800 buildings or 50 million square feet. 

The U.S. Department of Energy is launching the Better Buildings Smart Labs Accelerator to advance energy efficiency in laboratory buildings owned and operated by universities, corporations, national laboratories, hospitals, and federal agencies. Through the new Better Buildings Smart Labs Accelerator, partners will pursue ambitious energy-saving targets and strategies that will address key barriers to improving energy efficiency.

A typical laboratory is nearly four times more energy intensive than an average commercial building and can account for up to 70% of a given campus' energy footprint. It's estimated that if all laboratory buildings improved their energy efficiency by 20%, annual energy and cost savings could reach about 40 trillion British Thermal Units or $1 billion.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is launching the Better Communities Alliance (BCA), a new collaborative effort among 60 local governments, philanthropies, nonprofit organizations, and leading private companies to accelerate local clean energy progress across the country. The BCA was announced today by the White House during Smart Cities Week. 

As part of the Better Buildings Initiative, the BCA will deliver new clean energy resources, technical assistance, and facilitate collaboration between public and private partners by making it easier for participants to connect and exchange ideas.

On September 23, Secretary Ernest Moniz announced that 12 partners in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings, Better Plants program have met their energy or water savings goals this year, and 30 new partners have joined the program, representing significant growth for the program to accelerate progress in energy and water savings. Since President Obama launched the Better Buildings, Better Plants program five years ago, partners have saved more than $3 billion in cumulative energy costs.

The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is part of the broader Better Buildings Initiative, launched in 2011. The goal of the Better Buildings program is to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over ten years.

Better Plants partners represent more than 11 percent of the manufacturing sector’s total energy footprint, with over 2,500 facilities across the United States. So far, partners have reported cumulative energy savings of 600 trillion BTUs, and nearly 35 million metric tons of avoided climate-changing carbon emissions.

The Energy Department’s Better Buildings Challenge recognized the Wendy’s Company and its franchisee, Wendco Group, for leadership in energy efficiency. This local restaurant achieved a 37 percent total energy reduction or more than 50 percent energy savings per sales transaction, and nearly $8,000 in savings annually.

Through the Better Buildings Challenge, Wendy’s has committed to achieving 20 percent energy savings over 10 years, across 1.5 million square feet of building space at company-owned restaurants. It’s also the first restaurant company to include franchisees. To date, six franchisees have joined, adding an additional 270 restaurants (nearly 700,000 square feet) to the collective Wendy’s footprint. 

Wendy’s joined the Better Buildings Challenge in January of this year and was so inspired by the program that the company started its own program called the Wendy’s Energy Challenge. The program is modeled after the Better Buildings Challenge and encourages Wendy’s franchisees across North America to be good stewards of energy usage. 

 

As part of the Obama Administration's Clean Energy Savings for All Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released best practice guidelines for Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. PACE is an innovative mechanism for financing energy efficiency, solar, and related improvements. DOE's updated best practices guidelines will enable more states and communities to adopt and implement residential PACE programs, unlocking access to affordable financing to reduce homeowners' energy bills, achieve more resilient homes and communities, and create jobs. DOE will also provide technical assistance to make it easier for states and communities to stand up effective PACE programs.

The updated guidelines also incorporate advancements in DOE residential energy efficiency analytical tools and resources, such as the DOE Home Energy Score and Standard Work Specifications, and step-by-step program guidance available through the Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center. These tools and resources can be used by PACE program administrators and participants to plan, develop and implement programs that effectively deliver home energy upgrades to participating households in their jurisdictions.

The White House announced new partners joining DOE’s Better Buildings Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator.  The Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator aims to lower energy bills in low income communities through expanded installation of energy efficiency and distributed renewables. Low income households spend an average of 15 to 20 percent of their income on energy bills, whereas energy burdens above 6 percent are typically considered unaffordable. This Accelerator encourages the development of partnerships and replicable models and will work to identify funding options that a state-level agency, local government, or utility program could use to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy access to communities that need them most. Today, 13 new partners are announcing their participation, building on the 24 founding partners.

The Energy Department today announced the results of this year’s Better Buildings Alliance technology and market campaigns. Through partnerships with public and private sector organizations, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is working with interested landlords, tenants, and owners to adopt solutions that best meet the needs of their buildings for sustainable leasing and upgrades to indoor lighting. There are now over 160 participants and supporters in the Interior Lighting Campaign (ILC) and 40 Green Lease Leaders. Together these leading organizations continue to prove how novel thinking and innovative technologies can rapidly cut the energy wasted by the nation’s commercial buildings, including offices, hospitals, restaurants, retail stores, and even military bases.

Under the new HUD and DOE Home Energy Score partnership, in areas where the Home Energy Score is available, single family households will be able to increase their access to financing tools to make energy efficiency improvements. DOE’s Home Energy Score offers a “miles per gallon” type rating to estimate a home’s energy use on a 10-point scale. A “1” corresponds to the least energy efficient homes and a “10” corresponds to the most energy efficient homes, while the average U.S. home will score a “5.” Through this new partnership, homebuyers or homeowners who want to obtain an FHA-insured purchase or refinance mortgage for a single family home that receives a Home Energy Score of 6 or higher will be eligible to increase their income qualifying ratio by 2 percentage points above the standard Single Family FHA limit, making it easier to secure financing to make these improvements.

Vice President Biden joined U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today to announce the launch of the Home Energy Score pilot program. The Home Energy Score will offer homeowners straightforward, reliable information about their homes' energy efficiency. A report provides consumers with a home energy score between 1 and 10, and shows them how their home compares to others in their region. The report also includes customized, cost-effective recommendations that will help to reduce their energy costs and improve the comfort of their homes.

"The initiatives announced today are putting the Recovery Through Retrofit report's recommendations into action -- giving American families the tools they need to invest in home energy upgrades." said Vice President Biden. "Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle class families save money and energy."

Today, DOE announced the release of the Home Energy Score Simulation Training, a new online simulation tool that provides free, targeted training and testing to individuals interested in providing the Home Energy Score – a standard energy efficiency assessment and score generated only by qualifying professionals. The Home Energy Score Simulation Training (the Sim), developed by Interplay Learning, lets candidates walk through different virtual homes (colonial, ranch, and townhome) with numerous combinations of energy-related characteristics (e.g., heating, cooling, hot water equipment; wall construction; insulation levels; footprints).

With this enhanced training and testing available, the program will now recognize a wide range of credentials, including those held by home inspectors, HVAC contractors, and other professionals in building-related fields. The table below lists the minimum credentials now accepted by DOE.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative in partnership with CoStar Group, Inc., a provider of data and intelligence solutions to commercial real estate professionals, will expand the visibility of energy-efficient buildings in U.S. property markets and promote the benefits of energy efficiency for building owners and occupants. CoStar Group will display energy-related information that is already being made publicly accessible by state and local governments that have adopted building energy transparency laws. It plans to begin displaying energy-related information for buildings in Chicago and Washington, D.C., this summer, followed by buildings in other applicable states and localities beginning this fall.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro released Better Buildings Challenge partner results, announced three new focus areas in local communities, and highlighted overall signs of growth in the initiative’s reach and influence. 

Since 2011, both the number of Better Buildings Challenge partners and energy efficiency commitments have tripled, resulting in energy cost savings that now exceed the $1.3 billion mark and the avoidance of 10 million tons of harmful carbon emissions.  There are now 310 Better Buildings Challenge partners who are set to achieve goals of at least 20 percent energy reduction within 10 years. Together they represent 34,000 buildings and facilities, 4.2 billion square feet, and $5.5 billion dollars in energy efficiency investment. Latest reporting shows partners are on track, decreasing energy use on average by over two percent each year.

The U.S. Department of Energy  announced the publication of a high-impact, informational resources toolkit through its Better Buildings Energy Data Accelerator developed in partnership with 18 cities and utilities across the nation. The Energy Data Access: Blueprint for Action Toolkit is a compilation of case studies, guidance and real-world best-practices adopted by cities and utilities to help building owners measure and track energy use, and benchmark the energy performance of their buildings.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Home Upgrade Program and Home Energy Information Accelerators work with partners across the nation and are making important progress in lowering the costs of energy upgrade programs, while improving overall program effectiveness and enhancing access to information on home energy performance for consumers. These efforts help homeowners save money, while creating local jobs and improving the environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today recognized the city of Orlando and Parkway Properties for their leadership in improving energy efficiency across a combined 20 million square feet of building space by 20 percent within 10 years. Through the department’s Better Buildings Challenge, Orlando-based Parkway Properties’ showcase project, office tower One Orlando Centre, is expected to save nearly 18 percent in energy costs and over 1.7 million gallons of water through energy and water efficiency efforts.

The Energy Department recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner, West Palm Beach for their leadership in improving energy efficiency across 1.4 million square feet of building space by 20 percent within 10 years. The city of West Palm Beach has met their Better Buildings Challenge goal of 20 percent energy reduction and Mayor Jeri Muoio is announcing a new 15 percent energy reduction goal for 2025. 

The city of West Palm Beach is planning on committing a number of new buildings to receive a variety of energy efficiency upgrades, adding on approximately 130,000 square feet of building space to the Better Buildings Challenge.