In 2009, architect Edward Dean, FAIA, wrote an article for arcCA titled “Real Mitigation of Climate Change: The Path to Zero Net Energy Buildings.” In it, he reported on a New Buildings Institute study that revealed that LEED certification did not correlate with reduced building energy use, and therefore that the LEED protocol was ineffective in addressing climate change. He went on to recommend the 2030 Challenge as an effective alternative path to Zero Net Energy. It was a prescient reading of the sustainability landscape at the time.
arcCA DIGEST recently touched base with Dean for an update on his view of this landscape. We learned that, since 2014, he has written seven case-study books, commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission, focusing initially on Zero Net Energy buildings. He explains how the focus of the volumes has since changed:
“In the ten years since then, the books’ focus has shifted from ZNE to all-electric buildings that will be zero-carbon in 2045 when the California electric grid is 100% renewable energy. In fact, it is not really necessary that these case study examples be ZNE performers, because it’s all about carbon emissions . . . and these buildings will be zero-carbon in 2045.”
And, he adds, “LEED is not even mentioned in any of these case studies, nor was it ever brought up by the design professionals that worked on these projects. It was irrelevant.”
Dean’s books are viewable as flipbooks and downloadable as PDFs for free at https://calbem.ibpsa.us/resources/case-study-books/. The series includes:
ZNE Case Study: Commercial Buildings Volume 1, 2014
ZNE Case Study: Commercial Buildings Volume 2, 2016
ZNE Case Study: Commercial Buildings Volume 3, 2018
ZNE Case Study Homes: Volume 1, 2018
Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 1, Case Studies of All-Electric Buildings, 2022
Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 2, Case Studies of All-Electric Multifamily Residential Buildings, 2023
An eighth volume, Designing for Zero Carbon: Volume 3, Case Studies of All-Electric K-12 Schools, will be released in 2025.
For a cautionary take on the promise of a carbon-free electrical grid, see Brendon Levitt’s “Decarbonized Shadows: How Future Grid Scenarios Are Shaping Architectural Design,” also in this, Season 18, of arcCA DIGEST.
