{"id":1559,"date":"2020-03-03T19:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T19:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trccompanies.com\/insights\/transforming-commercial-new-construction\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T01:52:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T01:52:37","slug":"transforming-commercial-new-construction","status":"publish","type":"news-and-insights","link":"https:\/\/www.trccompanies.com\/fr\/insights\/transforming-commercial-new-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming Commercial New Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Commercial buildings today represent about\u00a016% of energy use<\/a>\u00a0(30% of electricity) and a key source of GHG emissions across the US. As policymakers set unprecedented goals for energy efficiency, decarbonization and renewable energy, the commercial market will be critical to this evolution. While new construction is a small proportion of the overall building stock, it represents an excellent opportunity to lock in energy savings and emissions reductions \u2014and lead as early adopters of new technologies and solutions that can have broader applications for the overall building stock.<\/p>\n

A new study funded by the California investor-owned utilities<\/a>\u00a0and led by TRC explains what it will take to drive commercial new construction market transformation with an eye towards broader market impact. The study tracks commercial market progress towards California\u2019s 2030 zero net energy (ZNE) goals, but findings can be applied to commercial solutions for other advanced energy objectives as well like carbon reduction, grid harmonization, resiliency and renewable energy.<\/p>\n

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Identifying the opportunity<\/h2>\n

Transforming the commercial market requires a change in the way developers, engineers and architects think about and design buildings. Interviews with these stakeholders revealed that they value the return on investment and marketability of buildings that are designed for deep energy savings (or ZNE). They also reap the benefits of occupant comfort and corporate responsibility for their impact on the environment. Further, stakeholders voiced that their real-world experiences with ZNE and other advanced energy buildings have been positive, as shown in the figure below.<\/p>\n

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Incorporating advanced solutions was identified in the study as technically feasible for most commercial sectors of new construction. The few ZNE retrofits show that existing buildings can also achieve deep energy savings, but this typically requires far-reaching action, sometimes at the gut rehab level. Despite the feasibility, market adoption of advanced energy commercial buildings is still very low. Stakeholders report building ~11% of their properties \u2018above-code,\u2019 but a mere <1% to a ZNE or ultra-efficient standard.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Catalyzing commercial solutions<\/h2>\n

The commercial market will transition when industry, policy, and institutions align efforts. By working together to improve and even re-think the levers of influence on the market, we can empower stakeholders like developers and others to make different choices with their investments.<\/p>\n

Based on the study findings and TRC\u2019s experience, we recommend the following strategies to activate this transition:<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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