APP Zero Energy Homes APP Zero Energy Homes WorkshopWorkshop

September 22-23, 2009Washington, DC

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Key issues to be explored

• Agree on a pragmatic approach for reaching internationally applicable definitions of net zero energy and net zero energy-ready homes;

• Begin to develop an international industry community committed to raising awareness and accelerating the adoption of net zero energy homes through information sharing and concrete projects;

• Discuss key challenges that this international community could take on to address barriers to international acceptance and adoption of net zero energy homes (and potentially other types of buildings); and

• Discuss next steps in the implementation of a series of actions under the project, including community scale demonstrations, development of workshop modules or roadmaps, and technology diffusion and deployment (e.g., through workshops, webinars, and design charettes).

Under the framework of the APP:

Our guiding question

What does the Zero Energy Home future look like for the APP countries, and how can this

workshop help spark a North American start to this journey?

AGENDA - Day 1

9:00 – 9:15 Welcoming Remarks

9:15 – 9:45 APP: Flagship Project and Workshop Objectives, Amanda Kramer, Environment Canada

9:45 – 10:30 Defining NZE: Jens Laustsen, IEA

10:45 – 12:15 Discussion: Challenges to International Adoption of ZEH homes

12:15 – 1:00 Lunch, Speaker: Mark Ginsberg, US DOE

1:00 – 1:30 Case Study: Tom Wade, Artistic Homes

1:30 – 3:00 Discussion: Overcoming the Challenges

3:15 – 4:00 Metrics: Bruce Ringrose, ClimateCHECK

4:00 – 4:45 Discussion: ZEH Roadmap / Workshop Modules

4:45 – 5:00 Closing Remarks for Day 1

Vision

A highly energy efficient home that produces - through renewable sources - as much energy as it uses on an

annual basis.

Issue - Stakeholder Map…

What are the key issues to consider to drive international adoption of ZEH?

And what organizations and individuals, either inside or outside the building industry, can help our harmonizing efforts by leveraging existing

strengths and practices?

International Adoption of ZEH

Discussion - Key Issues

• ZEH on neighbourhood scale• Financing-educating lenders + appraisers• Consumer awareness / behaviour• Zero “peak” communities• Legislation will drive traction• Incentives• ZEH communiqué to policy leaders• Local financing• Labels as a tool to build consumer awareness• Technology availability across APP member countries• Capacity building in-country• Infrastructure to build to code• Risk mitigation strategies• Definitional certainty• Permanent/fixed parts of building to inform definition• Design performance vs. operational performance• Design efficiencies based on specific regional climate and sun exposure• Change energy policy paradigm

Best practices, tools, programs, knowledge gaps…

How can we create a toolkit of widely applicable best practices and programs that will help APP member countries drive adoption of

ZEH?

What knowledge gaps can we identify, either within or across jurisdictions, that can be filled

by the efforts of this and subsequent stakeholder consultations?

Overcoming the Challenges

Discussion - Overcoming Challenges

Industry Toolkit of best practices

• Building America guidelines (single, detached)

• Matching existing info to regional needs

• 3 levels

– Developed economies

– Developing economies

– Economy in transition 

• Different toolkit audiences

– Policymakers

– Consumers / media

• Level playing field to determine performance

• Get stakeholder buy-in

– Builder, supplier, policy, legislation, code, appraisers, realtors, lenders, engineers

•Design tool to manage complexity•3D tool

•Builder-university centres of excellence•University Curricula•Keep in mind broader context of ZEH initiatives (i.e. IEA, California …)•Regional specificity

•Repetition for realtors, lenders, etc.•Designer education•Natural housing endowment•Monitoring compliance•Silo busting + communication across builder regions•Apprenticeship / mentor trades

What are the key milestone moments that will help us as a group advance the ZEH agenda?

How can we prioritize these milestones into short and long term goals?

What form of stakeholder engagement is best suited to both reaching and celebrating those

milestones (workshop, charette, summit, report)?

ZEH Roadmap

Discussion - ZEH Roadmap

• Setting codes + (stretch) goals (ie. consider city of Austin & California code forecasting)

• Standard labeling and verification

• Build in more flexibility to home design

• Develop an Organization; setup to qualify / rate ZEH

• WGBC, ASHRAE, Resnet as potential partners to build awareness and drive traction with labels such as LEED for Homes and the National Green Building Standard

• Remember we are developing a North American approach to ZEH

• Recognition of leaders to drive awareness + adoption

• Regionalization of existing programs

• Compendium of leading case studies in US + CA

• Web presence

– Suppliers

– Knowledge base

– Leadership examples

We need to advance aggressively.

AGENDA - Day 2

9:00 – 9:15 Review of Day 1

9:15 – 9:30 Establishing an NZE International Industry Community: Mark Ginsberg, USDOE

9:30 – 10:30 Panel: Areas of Expertise and Lessons Learned

10:45 – 12:15 Discussion: Establishing an ZEH International Industry Community

12:15 – 1:00 Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 Discussion: Community Scale Demonstrations

2:00 – 3:55 Group work: Mobilization

3:55 – 4:00 Closing Remarks

International ZE Industry Community

What will tomorrow’s global dailies say about ZEH and our efforts here today?

What avenues for collaboration are emerging in order to build an international community of practice?

What concrete approaches can we take to bring these opportunities to life?

Discussion - ZEH Industry Community

• How to move from “Best practice” to “Standard practice”?

• What is the impact on utilities of greater adoption of ZEH?

• Seek alignment on design constraints

• Determine inputs / outputs for different systems in ZEH

Community Scale Demonstrations

Drawing on the examples given by the panellists, can we begin to identify key criteria for demonstration projects?

Are there common elements in programs like Building America and initiatives like EQuilibrium™ that will inspire demonstration projects in APP countries?

Discussion - Community Scale Demonstration

It was widely recognized that a key tool in driving adoption of ZEH is awareness. And a means of driving awareness (and learning) is community scale demonstration.

Primary components of community scale demonstration include a leading builder in each country. Artistic Homes (US) and Minto Group (Canada) were proposed as possibilities. Also important would be technology availability and if possible, an enabling policy framework in the demonstration jurisdiction and/or project support (ie. APP funding) to help showcase the role of government.

With builders and jurisdictions selected, the goal would be to host 2 design charettes at the GLOBE conference in March 2010 to advance the community scale demonstration projects and continue the collaboration.

Other potential solutions put forward to drive community scale demonstration and ZEH adoption include:

• Alternate financing mechanisms (e.g., bonds, syndicated funds, national or regional

scale programs, utility, community investment funds); and • Solar PV that is not owned but leased by homeowner and paid through property

taxes.

Discussion - Community Scale Demonstration

In addition to the previous examples, the participants engaged in a discussion about some of the “Unusual Suspects or Sectors” that have both a demonstrated need for ZEH solutions and can fulfill our need for demonstration projects?

• Defense– Base housing was suggested as a potential demonstration project– Military has a different context / motivation for ZEH (ie. Rethinking security of

transporting fuel over long, unprotected roads in a combat zone)– With its significant resources, the Military could contribute to changing

perception of consumer• Energy Sector

– Housing is an issue in the oil sands and ZEH could be part of the solution– This sector is looking for good news stories

Group Work

Participants broke out into working groups in the afternoon of Day 2. With a focus on “mobilization” the groups were asked to align on a tactic for advancing ZEH and then build out the concept.

The following slides represent the ideas of the 6 groups, with a summary slide at the end.

Tactic Deep-Dive - Mobilization

What is your action?:

How does it support our goals?:

What resources are required to make it

happen?:

What stakeholder(s) & channel(s) are you

targeting?:

What are the success measure(s)?:

Probing Question: Given our conversation to date, what action steps can we take for moving ZEH

forward?

Group IAction • Develop strategies for development / adoption of standards (for new and retrofit) for

infrastructure and technologies on ZEH within APP• Identify and develop strategy for the removal of code barriersHow does it support goals?

• Facilitate wide-scale adoption of these standards by the industry• Makes it possible for policy makers to support ZEH• Mitigate risk of ZEH for builders & lenders

Resources • US: Dept of Energy, EERE; Canadian: NRCAN, Environment Canada• Standard development• ZEH champion

Stakeholders• Builders, ASHRAE + IEA• Code bodies, government, utilities

Success Measures• Develop standards• Adoption of standards by ANSI• Buy-in from stakeholders• New and retrofit homes built to standards

Group IIAction

Determining the fine print of the ZEH definition (standard levels of conformity)

How does it support goals?• Delivers clarity• Deliverable that assists in promotion of ZEH

Resources • Sub committees of APP to be developed• Support of the IEA

Stakeholders• All interested parties

Success Measures• Circulation• Influencing adoption

Action• Define solar-ready envelope metrics

How does it support goals?• Develop central information source

Resources• Data base• Website / education• Coalition partners• Certification• Strike a working group to finalize definition

1. Envelope requirements

2. ZEH

3. Energy Plus

Stakeholders• Utilities• Home owners / builders• Municipalities• APP counties

Success Measures• Baseline such as number of homes / year?• Verification• No policing

Group III

Action• Education through highlighting regional success stories: policy, education, finance /

incentives

How does it support goals? • Dissemination of knowledge; field testing prototype ideas; generating competition

between cities; regions; and countries

Resources• Local champion(s): public / private sectors• Coordinating entity / agency • universities / colleges• Funding!!

Stakeholders• Local inhabitants, utilities

Success Measures• Replication

Group IV

Group V

Action• Create a central information depository includes tracking other parallel groups

(ie. California, IEA)

How does it support goals?• Avoids redundancies• Saves time• Broadens outreach

Resources• Identify open source web base• Identify contacts to various groups• Identify existing data / information / organizations• Manpower / womanpower• Require contacts within other working groups

Stakeholders • Universities

Success Measures• Identify the storage site• Need a website manager• Ongoing effort

Action • Recognition of value in ZEH + sustainability features

How it supports goals• Enable home buyers to purchase ZEH• Create mechanism for education• Expand reach and acceptance of ZEH homes• Homebuilders can develop upgrade options with confidence

Stakeholders• Fanny May, Freddie Mac,, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, banks, small local lenders that are

already doing this (VanCity, TD)

Resources• DOE / EC-senator/politician invite• Financial Community to venue• Steering committee to develop agendas• Secretariat to handle logistics• Baseline data, evidence of barriers / issues• White paper, look at commercial industry• Tools• Policy instrumental / incentive to underwrite risk of innovation • Financing program (Bonds, Insurance, etc.)

Success Measures• Mortgage products• Guidelines for appraisal• 500 + pilot projects to validate risk• Commitment• Monitoring to validate economics

Group VI

During the breakout working groups on Day 2 of the workshop, the following were the key recommendations put forward and discussed:

1. Develop strategies for the development and adoption of standards (for new and retrofit) for infrastructure and technologies on ZEH within APP countries;

2. Determine the fine print of the ZEH definition (standard levels of conformity);

3. Define solar-ready envelope metrics;

4. Create awareness by highlighting regional success stories that feature innovative policy, educational or financial incentives;

5. Create a central information depository that includes tracking other parallel groups (ie. California, IEA); and

6. Standardize or formalize the recognition of value in ZEH + sustainability features.

Key Recommendations from Breakouts

The Road Ahead

• October 7-8: results presented at BATF, Tokyo

• October 13: Flagship project team visit to Mexico

• October 13: Will send summary document for review

•Fall 2009: microsite on Alliance’s web site

• Fall 2009: lender consultation, Toronto

• March 24-26: Community scale design charettes at GLOBE, Vancouver

• May 10-12: EE Global, Washington, DC

Next Steps

Immediate Term• Establish an identity for the Group; form committees to operationalize goals (develop page of assumptions around definition of ZEH, plan and carry out Lenders Workshop)• Finalize and determine fine print of ZEH definition/vision• Set an agreement (MOU) between stakeholders in Canada and US, including short, medium, and long-term goals• Secure a commitment of resources to ensure the sustainability of the Group and its efforts• Make a plan for the next G8 in Ontario• Promotion (Google, celebrity endorsement, alliances)

Mid Term• Develop a database of ZEH in North America• Carry out community-scale charettes in the US and Canada to inspire similar projects in other APP countries• Develop a policy/position paper• Create a World Green Building Map/World ZEH Map as a promotional and educational tool• Promotion (Google, celebrity endorsement, alliances)

Longer Term • Establish targets for ZEH homes built, job creation, retraining and economic stimulus• Develop a ZEH toolkit, targeted toward: i) builders and industry stakeholders; ii) legislators and regulators; iii) consumers and media; iv) realtors; and v) finance industry (appraisers, banks)• Promotion (Google, celebrity endorsement, alliances)

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