This document discusses opportunities to improve green building practices and certification systems. It notes that while green building initially offered promise, certification systems like LEED will not achieve needed emissions reductions. Technology trends could enable smarter, more cost-effective approaches using cloud computing, big data, and internet-connected sensors. A future system may leverage these technologies to dramatically reduce the cost and time of certification while increasing market uptake 10-fold in 10 years.

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US Energy Consumption by Sector, 2012, DOE/EIA

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US Electricity Consumption by Sector, 2012, DOE/EIA

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Why Start with End Use Demand?
• It’s much more cost-
effec/ve to cut demand
than increase supply!
• People want “energy
services” not “energy”
– Hea/ng/cooling
– Ligh/ng
– Transporta/on
– Etc.

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We Once Thought Green Building Offered
A Pathway to a Better Future

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Categories of Concern (LEED 2009):
• Land Use/Transporta/on (26%)
• Water Use (10%)
• Energy Use Reduc/on (35%)
• Materials & Resource Conserva/on (14%)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (15%)
Results:
LEED Cer/fied ~35,000 projects through 2016,
~20% outside the US (Canada, China, Brazil)

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• Resource savings (energy, water, waste)
– Average energy savings 15% - 25% vs. conven/onal
• Not well documented, however
• Improved building designs, materials & integrated
design processes
• Healthier buildings (IAQ, dayligh/ng, views)
• Higher rents & sales price (commercial real estate)
• Produc/vity gains

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Source: US DOE/EIA; Architecture 2030

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• Defini/on of a “good” building – changed
• Architectural educa/on & prac/ce - changed
• Building engineering prac/ce changed, esp. to reduce
energy use
– E.g., 60 kBtu/sq.e./year was the norm for offices
– Now 30 kBtu/sq.e./year is achieved in common
prac/ce
– Net zero energy is achievable now in many projects
• Construc/on prac/ces – changed
• Policy makers & gov’t agencies - educated

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We Started with a Simple System…

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Vs.
Consider: >10,500 interpretations of 69 credits!

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US Nonresidential LEED Certified Projects

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US Nonresidential LEED Market Uptake

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US Nonresidential LEED Market Uptake

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US Nonresidential LEED Market Uptake

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US Nonresidential LEED Market Uptake

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US Higher Education LEED Market Uptake

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• Exis/ng cer/fica/on systems, such as LEED,
won’t get us where we need to go, EVER
• Building codes (e.g., CALGreen in CA) offer
some benefits in “raising the floor” for all, but
change in overall carbon footprint is limited
• Green building has failed to deliver enough
business benefits at current costs to gain
widespread adop/on

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Is There a Better Way
to Build Green?
To get 10x greater uptake in 10 years?

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• Worthwhile goal for
every new project
– Hard on buildings
above 4 stories
• Combine low energy
use w/renewables
– Onsite solar
• Look for zero net
energy retrofit
opportuni/es Singapore BCA Academy
Net Zero Retrofit, 2009

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• Cincinna/ Police HQ
• 40,000 sq.e., 2015
occupancy
• EUI: 27 kBtu/sq.e./year
(first year)
– 67% below conven/onal
• PV: 327 kW rooeop/
parking structure
• 40 geothermal wells
• Design/build: no budget
increase!
Architect: emersionDESIGN LLC

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Rooftop Solar PV PV on Parking Canopy

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• Radically cut carbon emissions – primary goal
– 2030 goals: zero net energy on ALL new buildings
• Reinvent green ra/ngs as management tools
for con/nuous improvement
• Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs):
Increase uptake 10x in 10 years, from 4% to
40% of building area
• How can we do this fast and cheap?

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• Technology megatrends push every tool
and system to be smaller, faster, lighter,
cheaper, denser, with more user
engagement, etc.
• Green building can piggyback on these
megatrends
• What we need are tech-enabled “smart”
green buildings, with equally “smart” ra/ng
and assessment systems

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• Cloud compu/ng, Big Data analy/cs, Internet
of Things, cheap sensors & algorithms
• Real estate opera/onal data is a key asset
• Most facility management will be outsourced
– Centralize intelligence, but decentralize sensing
• Opportuni/es huge: Microsoe saves $8M/
year on energy at Redmond, WA campus

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SWITCH AUTOMATION
Source: www.measurabl.com

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SWITCH AUTOMATION
Source: www.measurabl.com

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• Use Big Data analy/cs to streamline evalua/ons
• Leverage algorithms to assess sustainability
– Self-driving cars
• Cloud compu/ng offers the chance to start
cheaply, across mul/ple devices & proper/es
• It’s important to have a low-cost approach that
makes sense to building owners and developers,
as well as government

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The Edge, Amsterdam, 98%+ BREEAM rating, 27,000 sensors

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• Can you hack cer/fying new sustainable buildings at
1/10th to 1/100th the current cost and 50x faster?
– Hint: You may have to audit results at random, like the IRS
– Using only input from design & construc/on documents?
• Can you come up with a credible program for
massively improving exis/ng buildings’ energy use?
– Meet goal of 50% less energy use by 2030
– Use drones to document energy waste via thermography?
– Use virtual/augmented reality to drive change?

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• Most efficient Net-Zero energy approaches vs.
climate zone and building type
• Benefits of district-scale energy vs. rooeop
solar; integra/on of rooeop solar with onsite
storage vs. “grid storage”
• Green chemistry for healthier building materials
that are as cheap & effec/ve as currently used
• “80/20” rules for healthy buildings (e.g., what
specific differences make the biggest overall
difference?)

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