SPONSORED BY MASS CEC - Massachusetts will need an “all hands on deck” approach to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. For its 2+ million existing buildings, this will require significant efficiency improvements and full electrification.  However, the current rate of building transitions is a fraction of what is needed due in part to low consumer awareness, system design/integration challenges, and inherently complicated consumer decisions.

SPONSORED BY EEMAX - Tepid Water is directed to the commercial safety eye wash, face wash and drench shower systems (labs, schools, medical, manufacturing, chemicals). Considering the vast number of situations that involve handling hazardous chemicals and materials during the normal course of business, architects need to be acutely aware of the impact on infrastructure design and specifications surrounding emergency equipment.

This session will discuss the process of transforming an old masonry building in Newton MA into a PHIUS-certified net-zero office space and educational center for high-performance design and construction. The construction process will be discussed and Passive House features of the building will be described as will challenges and lessons learned from the process.

This small New Hampshire town was faced with a host of issues with its 35,000 sf school. Key areas included IAQ problems, lack of temperature control, obsolete HVAC equipment, and high energy bills. A small group of volunteers proposed a radical solution: take one classroom as a prototype, disconnect it from the central plant, super-insulate it, and install a cold climate heat pump and an ERV.

Join the growing community of radically responsible industry stewards using Hempcrete, a bio-composite material created from the woody core of the hemp plant combined with a lime-based binder. Trusted around the world as a robust, high-performance sustainable building system, HempLime entered the US market a decade ago and is poised to take the industry by storm. Delve into design and construction details and review the specifics of costs, source material supply, and obtaining building approval from officials.

What have we learned about the experience of living in a deep energy renovated home? Come hear 3 pioneers in the deep energy renovation space talk about what it was like to create and now live in a zero net energy (ZNE) renovated home. We've got data, we've got lessons learned, and we'll illuminate the human experience of living in a home that creates more energy than it uses on a net annual basis. The existing housing stock is where the vast majority of residential energy and carbon savings potential exists.

Solar, energy efficiency, Passive House – these are the tools of the clean energy transition. But who are these tools for and who can afford them? Owners, developers, and residents of affordable housing in the Greater Boston region are asking these questions, identifying the barriers to accessing clean energy and the strategies for overcoming those barriers. Meanwhile, communities across the region are exploring ways to support this clean energy transition. How do we build partnerships across sectors to expand access and accelerate an equitable energy transition?

Come hear the results of the “Grid of the Future” pilot program, which offered Maine homeowners a discount on smart appliances (heat pumps, water heaters, smart EV chargers, and batteries) in exchange for allowing aggregated remote control of those devices as a “Virtual Peaker” power plant. The virtual power plant was controlled to demonstrate the potential value of aggregated, controllable distributed energy resources including reducing the need for fossil-fuel peaker plants, reducing transmission costs, and enabling deeper penetration of renewable energy on the regional grid.

Triple-decker homes, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to house immigrant workers, are an important New England housing resource. However, their energy performance is typically poor: they are often leaky, under-insulated, and heated with outdated fossil fuel systems. In this session, three organizations will describe scalable, replicable models to upgrade these iconic buildings. ABCD, which retrofits triple-deckers that house low-income individuals, will present on cost and energy savings achieved and challenges encountered.

If insulation, air sealing, performance testing, and high-efficiency HVAC systems were as exciting to home buyers as granite countertops and walk-in closets, the demand for energy-efficient homes and energy efficiency upgrades would increase dramatically. Home energy labeling allows owners, realtors, and developers a platform to market and value building energy efficiency. It provides a strategy for educating, engaging, and exciting consumers about high-performing home features that lower utilities, improve health and comfort and increase home value.