Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Professor Padgett
English 102
04/04/17
Humans Reach for Net-Zero to Save the Earth Commented [TR1]: Titles typically have a title and a
subtitle separated by a colon. This is optional, but we talked
about it in class.
Energy practices have become front and center in the minds of many people around the
world. Everywhere you look for appliances one will see energy ratings. On the other side, for
every product there are reviewers bashing the product for harming the environment and not being
energy efficient. Even though people are so concerned with energy ratings and reviews, few care
enough to take action to reduce their energy emissions. The engineering and construction
industries have been working tirelessly to make advances through various net-zero geared Commented [TR2]: Clearly defining "net-zero" could help
people understand what you are talking about exactly when
you say "net-zero," as opposed to them overlaying their
practices in residential and commercial buildings, now it is up to fellow builders, engineers, and
idea of what it means on your paper.
homeowners to face the issue of taking these practices and making them in high supply and high
demand so that they become common practices. In order to alleviate any concerns why there
needs to be net-zero practices, how it is possibly to achieve them Commented [TR3]: I'm not sure what you mean by this. It
seems like this is your thesis, so it should be particularly
clear.
In order to make net-zero common practice, people have to understand why it is
change and how quickly people need to reach net-zero energy emissions before the damage to
the environment is irreversible. Experts weighed in at the conference but with varying levels of
urgency, Climate hawks say it should be met as early as 2050. Others see a few more decades of
wiggle room, but they too emphasize the need for rapid action. (Cushman). Many doubters say
this goal is too unreasonable but not to experts. Advisors for Shell even agree that there needs to
be a movement towards cleaner and more energy efficient energy sources. If a big oil company is
in support of something that could potentially harm their business, it shows just how important
Working examples of net-zero construction have already been created. For example,
nineteen affordable net-zero energy homes were built in Hawaii in 2011. Hawaii is notorious for
very high energy prices so this project was constructed as an experiment to find ways to combat
these prices. The homes are all one or two stories and around fifteen hundred square feet. One of
the most important factors of these homes is that they are built in a hot area with low winds,
making it more difficult than normal to obtain enough renewable energy to not only supply
normal household needs but also cool a house in an above average temperature zone. Each house
has been monitored since their construction to measure their performance. In the first year, the
homes performed within one percent of net-zero. This above zero average occurred because most
homes performed above net-zero and only a few performed below. (Norton) This sort of
feedback is crucial in future planning of homes. The systems used in these homes can be
evaluated on their efficiency and used for future projects. Not all homes will be able to apply to
these practices though. Results will largely depend on the tenants. Larger families that require
larger square footage will use more energy. This does not discount the fact that these are still
ground breaking experiments. These homes will largely impact the construction of residential
homes and could greatly decrease energy usage worldwide. Once on wide scale production, they
would become more cost affordable and would be able to be afforded by those who otherwise
could not afford utilities. Not only has this been done with residential buildings, net-zero
Building Challenge. The living building challenge is the toughest set of standards regarding eco-
friendly buildings. The founder of the Living Building Challenge said in regard to the Seattle
office building, Washington is the least sunny state in the United States, and this building is still
able to obtain 100 percent solar which shows just how incredible the construction of this
building is. The details of the various components will be discussed further later. It is important
to note that this is a commercial building and with all of its energy efficient consideration
include, only cost the developers one-fifth above average costs of an office building of its class
(Thomas). Like the homes in Hawaii, the building can serve as a model for construction in the
future. Again, it will not always be possible to completely net-zero like this building is. This
office complex has no parking lot in order to encourage people to ride bikes and walk, but in
rural areas where people travel far distances to work this would not work (Thomas). Regardless,
it is still a building at the top of its class and therefor a model for how to significantly reduce
You are most probably wondering, how are these net-zero building created? There are so
many different aspects that have to be considered. In the office building in Seattle, one of the
proudest spotlights of the buildings design is the staircase. It was built in a spiral with a giant
hanging chandelier over top which sparkles the light that flows in from the full glass walls. The
idea behind the staircase is that it was designed so beautifully people will avoid the elevator and
take the stairs just to be able to experience walking up it, and apparently, it works. Another
aspect of the buildings design is that it is made entirely of glass. No artificially lighting is needed
inside the building since it is designed so that the sunlight coming in from the glass walls lights
the building all the way to its center. The toilets of the building are not hooked up to the citys
sewer. Instead, the toilets are composting toilets which compost waste to produce agricultural
grade compost. The attention to detail throughout this office space is what makes it known as the
Worlds Greenest Office Building (Thomas). Of course, there were many other factors
considered in its construction, but these were some of the biggest. These do not take into account
HVAC heating and air systems account for eighty-five to ninety-five percent of the
energy expended in any given building according to the Mark Lentz, the author of Achieving Net
Zero Require Innovative Thinking. With HVAC systems taking up such a high percentage of
energy, they are crucial in replacing in order to ever achieve net-zero. Lentz believes that with
new processes most of that waste can be eliminated or recycled. A study was done at West High
School replacing their HVAC system and energy usage was cut by seventy percent. HVAC
engineers currently model and rate their system by comparing the results to the worst possible
outcome, meaning even poor performance can receive a good score (Lentz). In net-zero
buildings, this sort of engineering is considered inefficient and engineers are using better
systems. Models need to be tested against the best possible outcome so that energy efficient
practices are constantly better themselves by being challenged against higher and higher
standards. The sort of technology used in creating efficient HVAC systems include
storage (Lentz). HVAC systems often are used for long periods of time and so it is up to
It is clear that making net-zero structures is possible, there are still many problems
associated with achieving net-zero. Although the technology is out there, the real barriers
imposed on technological progress are those we impose ourselves (Lentz). The number one step
before net-zero energy efficiency is reached, is to overcome the obstacle of people. People are so
accustomed to their lifestyles, and the energy they use, that they do not want to make a change.
Also, most people do not even realize just how serious and damaging wasteful energy use is.
Another problem is reaching net-zero comes from the construction industry, especially in
the case of high-rise, multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). The current building practices
and codes create many constraints on those trying to build greener structures. Many of the codes
currently in place, and even the ones that were made geared towards more energy efficiency, are
impractical and leave room for loose interpretations. Builders are being allowed to take short
cuts which undermine the energy efficiency standards. This problem can be overcome. Through
modules and cost-benefit analysis, options to decrease energy waste have been discovered
(Cianfrone).
There is also the problem of how all the renewable energy practices that the world is
currently striving to implement will hold up in future climates. We all know the damage we our
doing to our atmosphere can cause warming climates, but it can also cause more extreme weather
and more frequent storms. A study was done on how current wind and solar energy systems will
do in ten different possible future climate zones. The zones were created based on Global
Climate Models predictions. In half of the climate zones, the renewable energy sources lost their
capability to achieve net-zero. Like the other current problems that are faced while trying to
reach net-zero, this has a solution as well. Photovoltaic systems can be used to overcome this
obstacle. Photovoltaic systems account for hourly building energy loads and therefore are better
predictors for future climates. When tested against future climate zones, these systems show
stability. This is ground breaking technology that will allow for renewable energy sources to be
used consistently throughout the future, without the worry of having to constantly replace and
upgrade the sources. Beside this technology which now allows for long tern wind and solar
energy use, there are also other sources of energy, such as nuclear energy, which would be able
Clearly, net-zero construction is possible. It has been proved in both residential and
commercial building. It requires attention to detail in the structure, appliances, and design.
Various components are needed to make energy-efficiency possible, and keeping an eye on big
energy spenders such as HVAC systems. Although there are problems that are still being faced,
these problems do have solutions. Humans are the biggest problem faced by net-zero. It takes a
change of mindset in people. Humans all around the world need to start planning for the future
and take action to combat the energy crisis. Secondly, lawmakers all of the world need to come
together to better the construction energy. Unless, construction stops taking short cuts and starts
using better practices, net-zero will never be reached. It may cost a bigger price up front, but
energy efficient building will pay off in the end by allowing tenants to not have to rely on utility
companies. Lastly, engineers need to be working to create modules and products that do not just Commented [TR4]: It could be interesting to explore this
further elsewhere.
satisfy the current needs, but the future needs as well. The technology is there, so now the
initiative of homeowners, engineers, constructors, and law makers need to step up. Commented [TR5]: Thesis takes a clear stance on the
issue.
Citations
Buildings." Journal of Building Physics, vol. 39, no. 6, May 2016, pp. 522-541.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1744259115623262.
John H. Cushman Jr., InsideClimate News, Phil McKenna, Sabrina Shankman, Nicholas
Kusnetz, Zahra Hirji, and John H. Cushman Jr. "Is 'Net-Zero' Carbon Goal to Rescue the
Climate Plausible?" Inside Climate News. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Conditioning Engineering, vol. 83, no. 9, Sept. 2011, pp. 10-13. EBSCOhost,
login.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db
=a9h&AN=66893138&site=ehost-live.
Norton, Paul, et al. "Evaluation of Model Results and Measured Performance of Net-Zero Commented [PA6]: Try to include everyones name in the
citation as oppose to writing the rest off as et al. Et al. is
okay for in-text citation.
Energy Homes in Hawaii." ASHRAE Transactions, vol. 119, no. 2, May 2013, pp. 1-8.
EBSCOhost,login.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dir
ect=true&db=a9h&AN=96045853&site=ehost-live.
Shen, Pengyuan and Noam Lior. "Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts of Present
doi:10.1016/j.energy.2016.07.078.
Thomas, Samantha. ""World's Greenest Office Building" Makes Net-Zero Look Easy." YES!
look-easy>.