This session is in two parts.Water is scarcer. Systems for both fresh and waste water are vulnerable. Water standards are increasingly stringent to protect ecosystems and public health. Since water and energy are so inextricably intertwined, the term, “water grid" provides a unique frame for exploring how to operate a more closed-loop system of water production and use. As architects, engineers, builders and municipal planners, what will we have to rethink and re-do about processing fresh and waste water in developing the next generation of the built environment?

Is the rapidly declining cost of solar turning the loading order on its head? Our speakers will describe the latest developments in solar technology, and the effects of a variety of innovations on solar economics.

Do ZNE buildings deliver more value, improved performance, a better occupant experience? And if so, is there a cost premium for those benefits? Are there special financing vehicles for ZNE and other advanced projects? Our speakers will provide insights into the latest research findings, as well as their professional observations about the significance of emerging cost, valuation, and financing trends related to ZNE buildings.

This session will pose the question, what do we know about the market for ZNE projects? Who is making the decision to pursue ZNE, what are the drivers or motivators behind that choice, and how do we influence more stakeholders (and which ones) to make that choice?

The use of utility bills to benchmark building performance is a critical first step in any approach to energy conservation. However, utility bills can only tell you so much about how to improve building performance. Five multifamily buildings received circuit level electricity, temperature, and CO2 monitoring equipment. The data identified inefficient mechanical designs, incorrect installations, poor maintenance and individual apartments with high energy use. We will review what we measured and what we learned, including energy savings as a result of this monitoring strategy.

With net metering and clean energy policy being challenged across the country, the solar community needs to develop more sustainable solutions that reflect the real cost and benefit impacts that distributed energy resources have on the grid and society. This session will address efforts to create a better economic model for distributed generation throughout the Northeast. Among the issues discussed will be efforts to create value based rate structures to encourage solar, storage, security, smarts, and savings on the electrical grid.

Advances in building envelopes and HVAC equipment enable widespread use of air source heat pumps by many in the "Net Zero Energy" and "Passive House" movements. Steve Bluestone will report on two related items: a three year performance study of an air source heat pump system using hourly measurements (done with Henry Gifford and built above his garage) and the design and construction of his new 101 unit high performance rental building in NYC utilizing the same technology.