2030 Challenge Committee

2030 Energy Challenge Committee

The DC chapter of the American Institute of Architects has adopted the 2030 Architecture Challenge.  This is a national grassroots movement led by design professionals towards reducing energy dependence.  There are investments that can be made today to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels that have quick paybacks.  There is however, a great need for further research and development to broadly implement sustainable energy in the real estate industry. The targeted goals by the year 2030 are:

• Net-zero energy for new construction:  That means a new building will operate by efficiently using energy and creating renewable energy such that it requires no more net energy than it produces.  Renewable sources (such as wind, solar, etc.) can be generated on-site or acquired from more centralized sources.
• 50% better than the International Energy Code requires for energy performance for existing buildings:

Chaired by David Bell, AIA LEEDap, the 2030 Energy Challenge Committee is focused on three aspects for significant improvements in building energy use in DC this year (2010):

• Awareness: Outreach and advocacy program to inform the public about the importance, technical and financial resources of the program. Provide links between many sources of expertise, funding and research.
• Demonstrated energy efficiency:  20 homes and 10 commercial/government buildings to achieve at least 20% energy performance improvements with measurable and comparable results.  Baseline energy audit, cost effective improvements and follow-up energy audit to measure results.
• Education: Creation of a 10 month-long, professional-level education program for design and construction professionals and facility managers for achieving highly efficient and net-zero energy buildings.

2030 Challenge will:

• Significantly reduce energy intensity
• Demonstrate how to reduce energy use and save money
• Provide information for funding, tax credits and other incentives
• Encourage research and development for innovative renewable energy
• Design, construct and operate net-zero energy buildings by 2030
• Rehabilitate and operate existing buildings that are 50% more efficient than code requires

Definitions below from Executive Order 13514:

‘‘energy intensity’’ means energy consumption per square foot of building space;

‘‘renewable energy’’ means energy produced by solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and thermal), geothermal, municipal solid waste, or new hydroelectric generation capacity achieved from increased efficiency or additions of new capacity at an existing hydroelectric project;

‘‘sustainability’’ and ‘‘sustainable’’ mean to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations;

‘‘zero-net-energy building’’ means a building that is designed, constructed, and operated to require a greatly reduced quantity of energy to operate, meet the balance of energy needs from sources of energy that do not produce greenhouse gases, and therefore result in no net emissions of greenhouse gases and be economically viable.

Committee Meeting Schedule

(11:15am‐12:30 pm):
Date Location
Fri, 2 April 2010 1228 9th Street, NW (lunch will be provided)
Tue, 20 April 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
Tue, 18 May 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
Tue, 22 June 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
Tue, 27 July 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
No meeting in August
Tue, 21 September 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
Tue, 26 October 2010 1228 9th Street, NW
Fri, 19 November 2010 1228 9th Street, NW (lunch will be provided)
No meeting in December

GOALS

1. Establish local training program based on Seattle 2030 franchise to be
   implemented early 2011.
2. Create a program of at least 20 homeowners annually, who will hire an energy audit company to perform a baseline energy audits with recommendations, who will implement recommendations and have a back-end audit to compare the baseline and upgraded performance.
   a. Establish criteria for evaluating energy performance upgrades for base
   year.
3. Outreach and press coverage for AIA|DC as a thought leader with assistance from the Advocacy and DesignDC committees.

TACTICS

1. Develop local training program based on Seattle 2030, by 15 December 2010. Including obtaining commitments from architects and allied professionals for teaching courses, providing rights to use of case studies and other requirements of the program, by 30 June 2010.
2. Energy audit firm commits to program, by 15 February 2010:
   a. 20 homeowners agree to energy audit, by 1 March 2010.
   b. 20 homeowners apply for energy improvement funding/financing, by 26
   March 2010.
   c. 20 homeowners hire contractors to implement energy improvement
   recommendations, by 23 April 2010.
   d. 20 homeowners have energy audit follow up with a back‐end audit and
   comparative analysis, by 15 December 2010. Best two (top 10%) will win prize (TBD).
3. Outreach and press coverage:
   a. newspaper article(s), first article by 16 April 2010
   b. energy trade publication article(s), first article by 23 April 2010
   c. Local radio interview, by 23 April 2010
   d. NBM or YouTube video, by 1 October 2010
4. Obtain participation from representatives of Urban Institute, a qualified MEP Engineer, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Ed Mazria, Federal Government (DOE and/or GSA), DDOE, National Building Museum, National Trust for Historic Preservation, etc by 26 April 2010.
5. Panel discussion of 2030 Challenge at DesignDC 5 August 2010.
6. Get commitments from allied professionals and contractors for paid booths at DesignDC, by 30 July 2010.
7. Obtain funding for:
   a. item 2. partial audit costs (25% discount), by 15 February 2010.
   b. item 2. prizes (donations), by 26 April 2010.
   c. item 1. franchise fee (donations), by 30 September 2010.

For more information, please contact David Bell.