With the coming updates to building energy codes, there is an anticipation of growth in the volume of Passive House buildings. It is important to have a fully scalable approach to successfully guide teams from scope development through certification. This session will give a “behind the scenes” look into the process and demonstrate how to best handle the expansion of Passive House projects with a look at the perspective of the project manager, the energy modeler and the PHIUS verifier.

The global implications of climate change require immediate local action, with a major priority being to have a well-trained green workforce to meet the growing labor needs. Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Boston, alongside various community partners, piloted the Bridges to Green Jobs program in early 2021 to make clean energy industry jobs accessible to Black and Brown residents.

This session offers a case study of a curtainwall building in which the project team collaborated on an iterative energy modeling and design process to achieve aggressive energy reduction goals. Our panel will share insight on the process that led to significant energy and carbon reductions, predictive versus post occupancy usage data, and how this building will adapt to BERDO 2.0 and future energy and resilience considerations – a challenge facing recently constructed buildings that will need to decarbonize in the near future in Boston.

Think you know effective heat pump sizing and design? Significant market growth of cold-climate air-source heat pumps has resulted in new insights and lessons learned. Come explore new tools and best practices to enable improved design, sizing, and selection of ASHPs in this session with NEEP and Abode, and stay on the leading edge!

While recent state legislation across the region has codified ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in statute, these bills have had a clear lack of funding to address the massive capital investment needed. The tide may now be turning, however, with the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the implementation of significant state-level incentives, such as those laid out in Massachusetts' new energy efficiency triennial plan. This session will review the emerging funding landscape and identify effective strategies to leverage and stack these various incentives.

While the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is already being used by some states, wider adoption is anticipated with the initiation of DOE’s Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) program. This session highlights key changes in the IECC and identifies 2024 proposals that will have the biggest impact on reaching emission goals. The presenters will explore the relationship between required codes and voluntary standards, as well as the adoption status of Model Code and Stretch Code in Massachusetts, New York State and New York City.

Concrete accounts for approximately 11% of annual global carbon emissions. It is a material too important to ignore. Learn how BU’s Center for Computing and Data Sciences applied low-carbon concrete goals and selected structural elements to reach the highest Portland replacement concrete in Boston to date. See how opportunities in design, construction and supply chain were used to substantially decrease the climate impact of concrete used. Then discover national and local low-carbon material initiatives that are underway and growing.

VEIC’s work on Zero Energy Modular (ZEM) homes has helped hundreds of low and moderate income families achieve dignified, resilient, low-carbon housing. Over the past decade, we’ve partnered with five factories and countless funding partners and lending institutions to make this happen. The need is growing, not fading—for workforce housing, farmworker housing, Accessory Dwelling Units, mobile home replacement, affordable housing communities (single- and multifamily), and more. The problem? The ZEM model does not scale well within the current paradigm.

This community has spent decades laying the groundwork for net-zero-energy buildings. Now we stand at an exciting turning point, as the technologies and approaches we have long fought for are beginning to enter the mainstream and even be written into building codes. The 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code makes ultra-low-energy buildings mandatory, and functions as the platform for net-zero and fossil-fuel-free regulations for forward-thinking cities and towns throughout the state.