Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings
The global issue of climate change has accelerated the international commitment to net-zero carbon emission development. Decarbonizing the building sector has been put on several governments’ sustainable development agendas. To provide a reference for decarbonizing the building sector, this paper su...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/12/2060 |
| _version_ | 1797461177407635456 |
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| author | Fei Yu Wei Feng Jiawei Leng Yibo Wang Yang Bai |
| author_facet | Fei Yu Wei Feng Jiawei Leng Yibo Wang Yang Bai |
| author_sort | Fei Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global issue of climate change has accelerated the international commitment to net-zero carbon emission development. Decarbonizing the building sector has been put on several governments’ sustainable development agendas. To provide a reference for decarbonizing the building sector, this paper summarizes the U.S. experience in zero-carbon buildings (ZCBs) from the aspects of policies, codes, and standards at the federal and local levels and those of professional societies. Based on the definition and boundaries of ZCBs, this paper introduces policies on building energy efficiency, electrification, on-site renewable energy deployment, and “buy clean”, illustrating highlights in building phases, energy systems, materials production, and fiscal incentives. The synergic efforts and coordination between federal and local levels and with professional societies are also introduced. Successful experiences in policy and standard implementation are summarized, including the systemic work of multilevel governance, clearly defined goals and stringent policies, constant upgrades of codes and standards, transparency in reporting and information sharing, and increased financial and investment opportunities. This paper provides concrete recommendations for developing zero-carbon building policies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:15:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6a32d71f31a45a5aa90a107f2ed6eca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:15:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6a32d71f31a45a5aa90a107f2ed6eca2023-11-24T13:41:08ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092022-11-011212206010.3390/buildings12122060Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon BuildingsFei Yu0Wei Feng1Jiawei Leng2Yibo Wang3Yang Bai4Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd., MS 90-2112, Berkeley, CA 94720, USALawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd., MS 90-2112, Berkeley, CA 94720, USAArchitecture Department, Southeast University, Nanjing 210008, ChinaInstitute of Electrical Engineering, China Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Energy Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaThe global issue of climate change has accelerated the international commitment to net-zero carbon emission development. Decarbonizing the building sector has been put on several governments’ sustainable development agendas. To provide a reference for decarbonizing the building sector, this paper summarizes the U.S. experience in zero-carbon buildings (ZCBs) from the aspects of policies, codes, and standards at the federal and local levels and those of professional societies. Based on the definition and boundaries of ZCBs, this paper introduces policies on building energy efficiency, electrification, on-site renewable energy deployment, and “buy clean”, illustrating highlights in building phases, energy systems, materials production, and fiscal incentives. The synergic efforts and coordination between federal and local levels and with professional societies are also introduced. Successful experiences in policy and standard implementation are summarized, including the systemic work of multilevel governance, clearly defined goals and stringent policies, constant upgrades of codes and standards, transparency in reporting and information sharing, and increased financial and investment opportunities. This paper provides concrete recommendations for developing zero-carbon building policies.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/12/2060carbon-neutralzero-carbon buildingsenergy efficiencycodes and standardsembodied carbon emissions |
| spellingShingle | Fei Yu Wei Feng Jiawei Leng Yibo Wang Yang Bai Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings Buildings carbon-neutral zero-carbon buildings energy efficiency codes and standards embodied carbon emissions |
| title | Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings |
| title_full | Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings |
| title_fullStr | Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings |
| title_short | Review of the U.S. Policies, Codes, and Standards of Zero-Carbon Buildings |
| title_sort | review of the u s policies codes and standards of zero carbon buildings |
| topic | carbon-neutral zero-carbon buildings energy efficiency codes and standards embodied carbon emissions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/12/2060 |
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