DOE Study Stresses Need for Energy-Efficiency Measures to Enhance Building Resilience – USGlass Magazine & USGNN Headline News

Research Shows Energy Efficiency Enhances Building Resilience

Over the past two decades, an increased frequency of extreme weather events has cost the U.S. more than $1 billion in infrastructure damages. This prompted the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to commission research to assess how increased energy efficiency can improve building resilience under extreme temperatures.

Over the past two decades, an increased frequency of extreme weather events has cost the U.S. more than $1 billion in infrastructure damages. Photo courtesy of Andre Benz / Unsplash.

The study, Enhancing Resilience in Buildings Through Energy Efficiency, was prompted by DOE’s Building Technologies Office. Three research laboratories were tasked with the project: the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Importance of Standardized Metrics and Evaluation Methods

As part of the analysis, researchers examined the importance of standardized metrics, the establishment of evaluation methods, and impact assessments for commercial and residential buildings. To achieve results, researchers developed and applied a methodology to assess the value of efficiency for enhancing resilience in new and existing single-family and multifamily apartment buildings in six U.S. cities.

Results and Strategies for Building Resilience

After various tests, researchers concluded that improving passive efficiency in commercial and residential buildings to meet or exceed current energy code requirements saves lives during extreme temperature events in nearly every situation.

Researchers highlighted energy-efficient strategies that play a vital role in supporting building resilience, including:

• Efficient windows;
• Insulation;
• Envelope air tightness; and
• Passive ventilation.

Case Study: Assisted Living Facility in Houston

During one phase of the analysis, researchers studied an assisted living facility in Houston, where they explored how resilient the facility was under extreme cold and hot temperatures without power. They then examined how energy-efficiency measures impacted thermal performance.

Researchers selected two extreme temperature events: a six-day heatwave in 2015 and a three-day cold snap in February 2021. During those periods, researchers studied eight passive measures that influenced the building’s passive performance, including:

• Adding insulation to exterior walls and roofs;
• Applying a cool coating to walls and roofs;
• Installing interior window shades;
• Installing solar film on windows;
• Sealing the envelope to reduce air infiltration; and
• Opening windows for natural ventilation when conditions fit.

Over the course of their work, researchers discovered that during a heatwave with power outages, an assisted living facility’s bedrooms failed to meet the LEED Passive House criteria of a seven-day period. While the baseline facility was energy efficient, a lack of natural ventilation and the positioning of windows trapped heat indoors, endangering residents.

For the cold snap, researchers found that bedrooms in the middle of the bottom floor with no or fewer windows maintained higher indoor temperatures due to lower heat loss from the envelope. They also found that window solar film, which improves heat resilience during a heat event, prevented the heat of incoming solar radiation during the day, which could have warmed the facility.

“This negative impact is impaired at night not only because there is no solar radiation but also because the lower U-value of the window solar film helps to trap the heat staying indoors at night,” wrote the researchers. “In addition, other measures that reduce solar heat, including the cool wall and roof coating, benefit the heat event but worsen the cold event.”

Conclusion and Recommendations

Overall, after various analyses of single-family and multifamily structures, researchers concluded that high-performance buildings are safer for occupants and will reduce operating costs while improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions. Alex Wilson, president of the nonprofit Resilient Design Institute and founder of BuildingGreen, recommended that municipalities and states strengthen energy codes and for building owners and developers to establish “more robust specifications for energy and resilience performance.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 13: Climate Action.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are:

– Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure

– Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable

– Target 11.5: Reduce the impacts of natural disasters on cities

– Target 11.b: Increase the number of buildings with sustainable and resilient features

– Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards

– Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, there are indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These indicators include:

– Indicator 9.1.1: Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road

– Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added in manufacturing industries

– Indicator 11.5.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected people attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

– Indicator 11.b.1: Proportion of built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities

– Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected people attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

– Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into their national policies, strategies, and planning

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators