ZNE Gets a Boost on Two Fronts

The zero net energy (ZNE) movement has taken steps forward recently in an effort to drive wider adoption of the related technologies. A ZNE building combines energy efficiency and onsite renewable power generation to produce roughly as much energy as it uses during a year. The focal point for much of the ZNE activity in the United States is California, where state regulations call for all new homes to be built as ZNE by 2020 and the same for all new commercial buildings by 2030. It comes as no surprise, then, that the latest ZNE efforts are in the Golden State.

Public Awareness

One step forward to wider adoption was taken by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). The utility has opened a full-sized ZNE display home at its new regional office in Stockton, California. Visitors can see in detail how such a home can work in an effort to drive greater public awareness. The displays have many interactive components, such as an iPad-based augmented reality virtual tour using iBeacon technology that automatically presents relevant content in each room. Interactive components also include a 7-foot, high-resolution touchscreen that compares ZNE conservation methods with those of a typical home built in 2005 and an integrated content management and hardware system that drives the experience.

Virtual Tour of a ZNE Display Home in Stockton, California

(Sources: Leviathan, Pacific Gas and Electric) 

Industrial Education

Another step to drive greater adoption was the dedication of the United States’ largest net zero plus commercial building retrofit in the Los Angeles area. The 144,000-square-foot Net Zero Plus Electric Training Institute (NZP-ETI) facility serves as a showcase for how commercial ZNE buildings can be designed, constructed, and operated. One of its unique features is its ability to go beyond net zero, generating about 1.25 times more energy than it consumes in a typical year. The excess energy, which is generated from an onsite solar PV array, can be stored in onsite batteries or discharged back to the electric grid. During a grid outage, the stored excess energy can allow the facility to maintain operations for up to 72 hours. The facility also plays an educational role as the training hub for some 1,500 electrical apprentices, journeymen, and contractors who want to stay at the forefront of the electrical industry’s latest technologies.

These incremental yet important steps by PG&E and NZP-ETI represent the cutting edge of the ZNE trend, which was highlighted for the residential market in the recent Guidehouse Insights report, Market Data: Zero Net Energy Homes. These are baby steps toward a time when ZNE buildings become more commonplace. While these are laudable efforts, it will require many more similar moves in other regions before ZNE goes from oddity to ordinary.