Proposed new Net Zero Energy standard would eliminate combustion

The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO committed to "communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative." Its Net Zero Energy Certification standard would eliminate combustion from all energy-producing systems. 

The number of standards that Green builders can follow is increasing again and, if the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has it right, the standard will be much more stringent than ever. Besides Energy Star, Passivhaus, LEED, Earthcraft and Health House, builders will now be able to choose Net Zero Energy Building Certification, introduced by the ILFI at the Greenbuild 2011 gathering in Toronto earlier this month.

It is not a standard to be taken lightly. The ideal behind Net Zero Energy Certification is that a building should eliminate combustion entirely from its energy model, though buildings that use combustion can still qualify in certain circumstances.  

The need for the tough new standard is driven by the need for energy efficiency and fossil fuel independence, according to ILFI. It is linked to the Living Building Challenge, a stringent green building program that has not yet achieved wide acceptance among the building community.

The CEO of ILFI, Jason F McLennan, painted a stark picture of the future in announcing the new certification program.

“In the next two decades, we are looking at the disappearance of cheap oil, a scarcity of finite resources, the continual decay of our infrastructure and a ballooning planetary population that will compel us to adjust to new ways of building and being,” he said. “We see Net Zero Energy Building Certification as a way to galvanize and recognize widespread efforts to eliminate fossil fuel use and to conserve energy."

IFLI emphasizes that certification under its new standard is real and meaningful: a certified Net Zero Energy Building must be proven to harness energy from the sun, wind or earth to exceed net annual demand.

The definition of "net zero energy" for purposes of this certification is simple and perhaps daunting: 100 per cent of the building’s energy needs on a net annual basis must be supplied by on-site renewable energy. (By contrast, the Ontario government's Green Energy Act requires only 25 per cent "energy efficiency" in buildings constructed in this province.)

To earn Net Zero Energy Building Certification, a building must meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, which include curbing urban sprawl and incorporating renewable energy systems in "attractive and inspiring" ways.

Renewable energy systems currently falling within ILFI's definition include passive solar, photovoltaics, wind turbines, solar thermal, direct geothermal, water-powered microturbines, and fuel cells powered by hydrogen generated from renewably powered electrolysis.

ILFI clains that the new standard is quickly being sought after by builders around the world. 

Reprinted with permission of condo.ca.