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.

We will present new analyses showing how commercial facilities in Massachusetts (and beyond) can maximize energy savings and resiliency by installing solar + electric storage systems. We will review and explain how to take advantage of a suite of incentives and revenue streams including the SMART solar incentive with storage adder, the new energy efficiency performance incentive, the federal investment tax credit (ITC), demand charge management, and net metering.

The purpose of this session is three-fold: To educate attendees about what embodied carbon is and how it's different from operational carbon. To discuss why reducing it is significant for global warming mitigation. And third, to describe the programs and policies local governments are considering to spur embodied carbon reduction. You will hear from experts about best practices to measure and reduce embodied carbon in common construction materials. You will learn how municipalities like Seattle and others are using these resources to implement internal and city-wide initiatives.

States across the region are setting ambitious heat pump targets to support their climate goals. But what will it look like to retrofit millions of homes with heat pumps as the primary heat source? This session explores efforts in Massachusetts to answer that question with applicable lessons for the entire region. In 2019, Mass Save launched a first-in-the-nation incentive for integrated controls that automatically transition between heat pumps and traditional heating systems.

Jurisdictions throughout the NESEA region and beyond are actively pursuing the decarbonization of new and existing buildings. Through legislation, executive action, and performance goals in the building code, the Northeast is leading the building industry toward zero carbon and zero energy buildings. In this session, particular focus will be on building a retrofit economy through technology deployment, zero energy policy development, energy benchmarking, performance reporting, and carbon reduction mandates.

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?

Strategic investment in renewable energy has the potential to address two of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change and growing inequality. It’s possible to source, finance, develop and maintain solar projects in the built environment that provide meaningful environmental and economic benefits in communities that have borne undue burden from pollution and high energy costs, while delivering strong and stable financial returns to solar developers and investors.

As electrification grows as a tool to reach greenhouse-gas reduction goals, so do the risks of using electricity at times when it is most dirty and costly. To ensure that the benefits of long-term electrificaton of residential buildings are balanced with the short-term impacts on the grid, Massachusetts has begun testing consumer value propositions through tools like the 2017 Peak Demand Management Grant Program, Mass Save Connected Solutions, and the Clean Peak Standard.

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.