Cites- For Resilience and Decarbonization, Passive Measures are the First Priority to address Two main Challenges: 1) Peak Energy load management and 2) Energy Affordability and equity.
Passive measures are a valuable first priority.......While both pillars of passive and active measures benefit resilience and decarbonization, passive measures are the first priority to address two main challenges: 1) peak energy load management and 2) energy affordability and equity. Electrification in the building, transportation, and industrial sectors is projected to dramatically increase peak electricity demand. Prioritizing passive measures helps manage the total electricity load growth. For example, according to RMI research (Hu et al. 2024), peak electricity demand in New York State could rise by 123 percent by 2050 if residential buildings are simply electrified. However, implementing residential envelope retrofits combined with building electrification would reduce this peak electricity demand growth by 27 percent.
Moreover, passive measures are already widely implemented and prioritized in decarbonization efforts to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. RMI's founder, Amory Lovins, highlights that equipping buildings with passive measures can eliminate, shrink, or simplify HVAC equipment when electrified. Another challenge is energy affordability and equity, which is recognized as an essential priority in both national and state level building decarbonization efforts. Prioritizing passive measures such as weatherization drives down total energy usage and lowers utility costs year-round. It also reduces the size of solar PV and battery storage to meet a building’s remaining energy needs and provide back-up power when necessary. Because passive measures can reduce total load and shift load outside of the hours of peak demand on the grid, it helps empower buildings as grid resources that support reliability. Each of these benefits is especially valuable for households in environmental justice communities that may financially struggle to purchase and use heating and cooling equipment to maintain safe indoor conditions during extreme events. Notably, RMI research has demonstrated that passive measures significantly extend a homes’ “hours of safety” during an outage shown below. Improving passive measures in new buildings to meet or exceed current energy code is often cost-effective, and in existing buildings can extend the ability to shelter in place by as much as 120 percent during extreme cold and up to 140 percent during extreme heat. However, passive measures have been adopted more slowly than the rate needed to confront climate threats. Quantifying the resilience benefits of passive measures could be beneficial to accelerate the adoption of .......
Passive measures .......These measures improve the building envelope to reduce the required capacity of heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting systems by maximizing the use of natural resources such as sunlight and airflow. This passively extends the “hours of safety” indoors when buildings have no power during extreme weather events.
Active Measures......These measures take a more active resilience role by generating, storing, providing, and efficiently using energy. Some ensure continuous access to critical energy services. Others position buildings as an asset to grid reliability both in normal operations and through power outages. In many cases, these measures provide both services. Individual active measures can be networked locally into microgrids or virtually aggregated to form virtual power plants (VPP).
Three real-world examples demonstrate the value of breaking down silos.....Using this integrated approach to decarbonization and resilience, we can steward climate progress and prepare for future climate threats like flooding, extreme temperatures, and wildfires......read on https://rmi.org/resilient-carbon-free-buildings-are-within-reach/
