Better Buildings Initiative: a new approach to the decarbonisation of buildings
Through the Better Buildings Initiative, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) is collaborating with public and private sector organisations to improve the energy efficiency of commercial, public, industrial and residenitial buildings, thus enabling the owners to reduce costs and emissions while boosting economic growth.
The over 900 partners involved in the Better Buildings project, (which has so far led to savings in energy costs of 18.5 billion dollars), have got together to share their innovative strategies. At the recent summit entitled Better Buildings, Better Plants, a new strategic pathway was announced: the Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator.
What is the purpose of the Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator?
The DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative has been guiding the implementation of economically advantageous solutions for energy efficiency and decarbonisation in the American building sector since 2011. The Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator is the result of over a decade of public-private cooperation in that field.
It was developed thanks to the collaboration of commercial users of the calibre of Amazon, IDEA and Target and includes producers such as AAON, Carrier Global Corp., Lennox International and Rheem Manufacturing Co, who have joined forces to provide effective solutions to meet the needs of that sector.
The main purpose of the accelerator is in fact to facilitate the transition of the new heat pump technologies from the laboratory to market, with the introduction of more efficient, cheaper roof units, which will bring lower emissions and energy costs compared to natural gas powered heat pumps as soon as 2027.
If implemented on a large scale, these innovative technologies could even enable American companies and commercial organisations to save as much as 5 billion dollars a year on bills.
Other news about the Better Buildings Initiative
During the three day Better Buildings Initiative summit, (which attracted over 800 participants), in addition to the heat pump programme mentioned above, lots of other news was announced, including:
- leadership recognition: over 40 organisations receveived ‘Better Project’, ‘Better Practice’ and ‘Climate Finance Innovator’ awards for results they have achieved in terms of decarbonisation, energy and water efficiency and reducing waste. Furthermore, 65 organisations were presented with the tenth annual Green Lease Leaders award for their use of sustainable property leasing contracts, aimed at reaching sustainability and net zero targets;
- new groups working on decarbonisation: the DOE launched three new working groups for Better Climate Challenge partners, focusing on the decarbonisation of central plants, the transition to low impact refrigerants and financial strategies for industrial decarbonisation;
- sharing of successful pathways: the DOE’s Better Buildings Solution Centre has been updated to improve navigation, functionality and design, with a new research platform aimed at more effective filtering of over 3000 efficiency and decarbonisation solutions;
- the DOE Lighting Prize American Made Challenge: the third and final phase of the challenge offered prize money of 10 million dollars to a maximum of four winners for the production and installation of latest generation illumination products designed for commercial buildings.
It is important to remember that via the Better Buildings Initiative, the DOE collaborates with public and private stakeholders to reach ambitious targets on reducing energy and water use, cutting waste and decreasing emissions and costs, while publicly sharing best practices.
The improvements in the design of buildlings, materials, equipment and operations, have made it possible to achieve considerable savings in terms of energy efficiency across a variety of industrial sectors, so this initiative is playing a key role.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
