Building Institutes Create Web Tool for Energy Savings
The National Institute of Building Sciences and the New Buildings Institute, along with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, have developed a new tool to aid municipalities deal with energy use in buildings.
“Buildings are responsible for a significant portion—often the largest portion—of energy use or greenhouse gas emissions within city borders,” the NIBS said in a press release.
“Yet, the cities setting measurable objectives to reduce energy use or GHG emissions are finding policies focused only on new construction are not enough to achieve such goals. They need a coordinated approach that also addresses the existing building stock.”
The tool, dubbed the “Life-Cycle Energy Performance Framework for Cities,” is available on the NIBS’s Whole Building Design Guide web portal, and gives users the opportunity to customize their own path to implement life-cycle-based energy policies and gather tracking reports.
The tool is organized first in four overarching categories, including Leadership; Data, Analysis and Applications; Mechanisms; and Ensuring Results.
Each of those categories is broken down into components such as policies, actions, resources and tools. And, finally, each element can be designated a status, such as in place, in process, in planning or in projections.
For more on this tool, visit wbdg.org.