Buildings
Building Decarbonization Solutions
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Due to insulation, our buildings contribute to climate change before they are occupied because of the embodied carbon (eCO2e) inherent in the manufacture of these typical building materials. Lower embodied carbon materials include mass timber, cross laminated timber, hemp lime and wood fiber insulation.
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The primary strategy for avoiding the burning of fossil fuels while heating the home. Ductless systems (minisplits) are able to be deployed for an entire building or a single drafty room. State and federal incentives will be crucial to implementing this technology.
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Very similar to air source heat pumps, a heat pump water heater utilizes electricity to provide hot water.
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Today, more innovative and energy efficient materials are being considered for new construction or retrofit of existing buildings. These materials have lower embodied carbon and result in a lower transfer of energy between the outside conditions and the building.
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also known as geothermal, these systems heat and cool with high efficiency. While their up-front cost is higher than air source heat pumps, geothermal systems pay for themselves and can often be affordably financed!
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Traditional roofs tend to absorb a high amount of heat from the sun. As a result, the home can consume a high amount of energy in cooling due to higher temperatures. Cool roofs better reflect the sunlight in order to preserve more consistent temperatures.
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Demand response programs are designed to reduce the consumption of electricity during periods of high electricity use in order to avoid overload of the grid. There is precedent for economic incentives in return for electricity reduction during these periods.
Regional Strategy
The assignment: to get 1 – 2 million homes off fossil fuels by 2030, statewide. The cost averages $29,000 per single family home. State and federal incentives cut that tremendously. The electric alternatives work and some people are excited about them, but it’s all so complicated. To help, the state has funded a program called Clean Energy Hubs, funding experts to help. But the challenge of connecting these experts with the population at large is enormous.
The Clean Energy Hubs should organize a robust network of community partners. Organizations with related missions should align their programming to amplify the outreach of the Hubs.
Financing and funding programs should establish their own network and a coordinated communications platform, communicating frequently with the Hubs and with local governments, so that consumers of all kinds can easily compare resources for decarbonization.
Local governments and anchoring institutions in communities – such as libraries, health care institutions and community centers – should assess the feasibility of micro-grids and district geothermal systems as opportunities to support community energy security and resilience while improving grid management as renewable energy scales up.
This coalition will work with guidance by the Clean Energy Hubs to build these kinds of supportive projects.
Who Cares? A Partial List of Stakeholders:
Mid-Hudson Energy Choices (Clean Energy Hub)
https://midhudsonenergychoices.org/
Passive House Alliance of the Hudson Valley
Sullivan County Office of Sustainable Energy
US Green Building Council Upstate NY Chapter
https://www.usgbc.org/chapters/usgbc-new-york-upstate
Building Performance Institute
US Hemp Building Association
NY Green Bank Community Decarbonization Fund
https://greenbank.ny.gov/Our-Impact/Building-Decarbonization
Partners for Climate Action Building Decarbonization Fund
https://www.climateactionhv.org/decarb-grant
Rewiring America