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e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Secretary Bodman recently launched a program called the Builders Challenge at the International Builders Show. Can you tell us about the design, goals, and expected outcomes of this residential building program? Karsner: The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Builders Challenge aims to reduce our carbon foot print and fundamentally change the way homes across this nation produce and use energy. DOE has posed an aggressive challenge to the building industry – to build 220,000 high performance homes by 2012. The Challenge expands public-private sector cooperation to propel the market toward building and selling homes that produce at least as much energy as they consume, and furthers the President’s call to change how we power our homes and businesses by utilizing cutting-edge technologies that increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions. The participation of homebuilders is crucial – what Builders Challenge offers them is an effective way to make their best energy-performing homes stand out in the marketplace, with the many benefits made clear for buyers. The first wave of builders who have committed to the challenge represent the tip of the spear that’s going to revolutionize the residential built environment in this country. DOE is making Builders Challenge a reality through collaborative efforts with states, building industry associations, building trades, colleges and universities, consumer organizations, rating organizations, realtors, utilities, and energy efficiency program sponsors. There are five elements of the Challenge:
Ultimately, DOE aims to see 1.3 million homes of this high standard constructed by 2030, allowing Americans to save $1.7 billion in energy costs. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: New ENERGY STAR® criteria are being established for three products: residential hot water heaters, residential clothes washers, and solid-state lighting luminaires. Can you tell us more about these new criteria and when they will go into affect? Karsner: The ENERGY STAR® program empowers consumers to make smart energy choices to reduce home energy use, monthly energy bills and carbon foot print. The Department of Energy is thrilled with the recent expansion of the Program which provides consumers with even greater options for purchasing energy efficient products to help further the Nation’s goal of increasing efficiency and energy productivity, resulting in significant energy savings and greater economic competitiveness. In March 2008, DOE announced more stringent requirements for clothes washers carrying the ENERGY STAR® label that will substantially reduce energy and water use. In order to qualify, clothes washers must be a minimum of 43 percent more efficient than current federal energy efficiency standards with a maximum Water Factor (WF) of 7.5, as of July 1, 2009. As of January 1, 2011, clothes washers must be a minimum of 59 percent more efficient with a maximum WF of 6.0. Following the 2011 criteria change for clothes washers, consumers are expected to save $120 million on utility bills annually, 11.2 billion gallons of water, and 659 million kilowatt hours of electricity. This month, DOE was proud to announce ENERGY STAR® criteria for water heaters, the first in the history of the program. Currently, water heating represents up to seventeen percent of national residential energy consumption, making it the third largest energy end-use in homes, behind heating and cooling, and kitchen appliances. The new criteria will cover solar water heaters, electric heat pump water heaters, gas tankless water heaters, and high-efficiency gas storage water heaters, effective January 1, 2009. According to DOE projections, by the end of the fifth year in effect, the new water heater criteria are expected to achieve cumulative savings of approximately $780 million in utility costs for American families, energy savings of more than 3.9 billion kilowatt-hours and a reduction of 4.6 million tons of carbon dioxide. ENERGY STAR criteria for solid-state lighting luminaires take effect September 30, 2008. The initial criteria cover seven near-term applications: undercabinet kitchen lighting, undercabinet shelf-mounted task lighting, portable desk task lights, recessed downlights, outdoor wall-mounted porch lights, outdoor step lights, and outdoor pathway lights. Other categories will be added as technology advances. These announcements are not random, but are rather a reflection of our real commitment to modernize and evolve the program commensurate with the pace of technology development. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: The Department has been spearheading activities to encourage a 30 percent improvement in building energy codes. Please describe this effort for our readers and why you believe a 30 percent improvement is desirable? Karsner: The built environment generates 40 percent of the Nation’s greenhouse gas emissions but there are tremendous opportunities to increase and maximize energy efficiency in our homes, our businesses and our industrial facilities. DOE is aggressively pursuing energy efficiency improvements in homes and commercial buildings on several key fronts. The Advanced Building Codes Initiative works with builders, code officials, manufacturers, efficiency advocates, and other interested parties to develop both a residential energy efficiency code that is 30 percent better than the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code, and commercial building codes that will be 30 percent more efficient than ASHRAE 90.1 2004. In addition, DOE is partnering with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to produce a series of Advanced Energy Design Guides focused on providing recommendations for achieving energy savings over the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999. The initial series of guides have an energy savings target of 30 percent, which is the first step in the process toward achieving a net zero energy building – defined as a building that, on an annual basis, draws from outside resources equal or less energy than it provides using on-site renewable energy sources. Each 30% Design Guide addresses a specific building type, with guides for small office buildings, small retail buildings, and K-12 school buildings completed so far and more coming soon. Once commercial and residential buildings meet the “30 percent more efficient” goal, the savings will equal 1.7 quads for commercial buildings between 2005 and 2030, 1 quad for residential buildings, and a substantial reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Thirty percent codes is a great start – but only that – a beginning. We’ll be moving on to 50 percent goals in the near term. More efficient homes and buildings mean a more energy independent America. In the United States, buildings use more energy than transportation or industry. So when it comes to America’s energy security and our effort to aggressively mitigate climate change, energy efficiency in homes and commercial buildings will have a substantial impact. Consider this one fact: about 30 percent of housing stock that will exist in 2030 has not yet been built. That one fact alone presents us with a major opportunity to positively influence our nation’s – and our children’s and grandchildren’s – futures. |
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Andy Karsner serves as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy. He manages the nation's $1.74 billion federal applied science, research, development, and deployment portfolio, which promotes marketplace integration of renewable and environmentally sound energy technologies for transportation, generation, and efficiency. In this interview, he answers our questions about new energy-efficient building initiatives at DOE and establishing criteria for ENERGY STAR products.