Energy spent on buildings constitutes a significant portion of the total amount of energy consumed in the world. In addition to consuming significant amounts of energy, building energy is also responsible for a huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, office buildings consume approximately 1055.5 MJ/m2 of energy per year. Additionally, office buildings account for up to a fifth of all energy supplied to and consumed by commercial buildings. However, not all of this energy is the result of the building's construction. However, it also includes the large number of electrical and mechanical equipment that must be integrated into the building, intended for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (hereinafter HVAC). Therefore, commercial buildings constitute a key area for improving energy efficiency (Herzog, 1997). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From an environmental point of view, approximately of the 6 billion tons of carbon emissions from industrialized countries, 4.5 tons are the result of building construction. More energy efficient building structures can reduce the amount of carbon emitted by up to 60%. This value translates into 1.35 billion tons of carbon; a significant amount. Energy efficiency refers to providing a better level of service using reduced amounts of energy, therefore reducing costs spent on energy. By setting efficiency standards, some states, such as California, are able to increase their economic prosperity by protecting the consumer from exorbitant energy costs. They also help stabilize the state's energy supply by reducing the state's overall energy demand. The state of California leads efforts to achieve energy efficiency in commercial buildings by enforcing Zero Net Energy (ZNE hereafter) policies. However, this implementation requires major improvements in the efficiency of commercial building construction. This research paper will discuss the process of achieving energy efficiency in commercial buildings by considering the various protocols and strategies aimed at achieving this goal. The document proposes several recommendations that can be implemented to achieve this goal. Buildings considered net zero energy combine renewable energy production found on site and energy efficiency. These represent an opportunity to regulate the cost of energy and also to meet greenhouse gas emission targets. A net zero energy building refers to a building where the amount of social energy used within a one year period; is equal to or less than the amount of social renewable energy generated at the site. The social value of energy refers to the cost of energy projected over time. This includes factors such as the value tied to the amount of carbon emissions, the cost of peak demand and other externalized costs. In order to create buildings compliant with the ZNE regulation, energy consumption in buildings must be reduced as much as possible. This can only be achieved by using energy efficiently. This means that the level of energy consumed in the building must be lowered to the point that the building's energy demand can be sufficiently met by installed photovoltaic cells or external sources of renewable energy (Jayamaha, 2006). Additionally, any future upgrades made to the building should follow the building's energy efficiency plans. In addition to the building changes that mustbe compliant, new appliances that may be installed in the building must also be energy efficient. To achieve high energy saving standards, the state of California has implemented several strategies. Current efforts to achieve an energy-efficient environment are based on several policy initiatives that have a wide range of objectives, from job creation, to environmental protection, to economic development. The majority of California's residential units, as well as commercial buildings, were built before 1978. Therefore, these buildings represent an opportunity for the state of California to achieve its goals and objectives of reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted . As a result, California's governor, Governor Brown, has instilled the policy of improving energy efficiency as part of his clean energy jobs plan. This plan allowed the Energy Commission to develop energy regulatory assessments and improvements for existing buildings. This gave a state agency the power to use this opportunity to improve energy efficiency; a power that was not there before (Torcellini et al, 2006). Under Governor Brown's plan, there are several key actions that can be used to ensure energy efficiency is achieved. One of the key steps suggested is the implementation of more rigorous standards regarding appliances used for lighting and other consumer electronics. It also proposes the creation of new efficiency standards to be met in the construction of new buildings. Additionally, he proposes increasing public education and strengthening efforts to meet these standards. Finally, it suggests the need to transform existing buildings to make them more efficient, especially those built before the implementation of current building standards. In addition to Governor Brown's policies, there are several acts that seek to ensure that energy efficiency is achieved in commercial buildings and any other buildings constructed in California. One such act is the Warren-Alquist Act. It is this act that mandated the California Energy Commission to develop, implement, and adopt standards requiring maximum allowable energy consumption for appliances or minimum acceptable energy efficiency in buildings. Appliance efficiency standards require that manufacturers be able to cover all feasible energy reductions without sacrificing the safety or comfort expected by the consumer when using the appliances (Herzog, 1997). California's Clean Energy Futures Initiative promotes activities and initiatives aimed at reducing the consumption of appliances. amount of carbon emitted, as well as those aimed at creating green jobs. The Global Warming Solutions Act – AB 32 began an initiative that aims to bring the amount of carbon emitted by California back to the 1990 level by 2020. The act notes that the most notable way to reduce the amount of carbon emitted in l environment is by building new energy efficient buildings. However, there is an urgent need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings constructed before 1978. There is a large discrepancy in the amount of energy consumed by the population and the type of buildings. Building to energy efficiency standards aims to minimize building energy costs for consumers as technically feasible as possible, without limiting energy use. In order to develop a project for a highly energy efficient building it must exista project oriented towards the same objective. The design must take into consideration the characteristics of the environment. Furthermore, it must be able to maximize passive opportunities that will ensure the reduction of the energy required for heating and cooling the entire building. This is a logical means by which the energy efficiency of a building can be improved. Environmental characteristics to consider include weather, temperature variations and site-specific optimization opportunities, including; orientation towards the light. Energy-efficient building construction can also be improved by incorporating high-efficiency mechanical and lighting systems into the building design. Building energy efficiency standards and appliance efficiency standards provide the mechanisms needed to reduce a building's energy needs. The standards promote the use of modern energy-efficient technologies, such as the use of compressor-free heating, cooling and ventilation systems, as well as high-efficiency luminaires for the building's lighting system. This makes it possible to keep buildings at minimum energy consumption without sacrificing user comfort (Jayamaha, 2006). There are several challenges associated with the construction and implementation of energy efficient buildings. There are still several challenges that need to be resolved to make significant progress in achieving energy efficiency in buildings. While there are policies and laws that govern the construction of energy-efficient buildings, it is up to appliance manufacturers, distributors and building engineers to comply with them. Approximately 30% of the energy saved through the construction of energy efficient buildings is wasted as a consequence of failure to comply with the imposed standards. Non-compliance involves aspects such as failure to install HVAC systems and inadequate sealing of air ducts. In exchange for stimulus funds, California pledged to achieve compliance by 2017. Adequate enforcement of standards and implementation of other strategies to improve energy efficiency are lacking. These challenges increase construction costs and energy demand in such buildings. This is a major obstacle to efforts to improve energy efficiency. To curb this problem, it is mandatory that all commonly inadequately installed efficiency measures are inspected and verified by independent energy inspectors. Third party energy inspectors are referred to as HERS assessors. Their mandate includes; use specific diagnostic tests and field verification protocols to establish the quality of the installed equipment. In this way they protect the consumer by ensuring that the equipment purchased is as energy efficient as possible and saves costs. Building departments also face enormous challenges in implementing energy efficiency in buildings. Most of the obstacles the building department faces are the result of a lack of sufficient funding. These departments depend on permit fees and, therefore, have no surplus they can use to track contractors without permits. There are also scant HVAC modifications and repairs. Reports show that only 10% of all HVAC systems are installed correctly and have the necessary permits to operate (Herzog, 1997). There are several recommendations that can be made to ensure the implementation of policies and 30%..
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