Decarbonization

The built environment is a major contributor to climate change, generating nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. It’s not enough to build new low carbon or Net Zero Energy buildings. The retrofit of existing buildings is crucial to preventing the worst effects of climate change. If we can move existing buildings closer to net zero, even if one building at a time, we can create a better future for generations to come.

Our decarbonization service provides short, medium, and long-term strategic planning to make your energy and carbon goals achievable.

Cx Associate's decarbonization service is adaptable to your unique situation and project goals. We work with you to create a package to meet your needs, from a comprehensive and clear path to achieving net zero energy to a few actionable steps to reduce your building's carbon footprint.

We start with energy efficiency before addressing load-shifting or coincident load management, and we consider carbon dynamics such as hourly electric grid emissions, HVAC system time-of-use, and HVAC/Envelope interactions. We compare both electric and fossil fuel loads in terms of carbon (lbs CO2e), providing a strategy for joint optimization of on-site electric and fossil fuel demand. Thinking longer-term, we prioritize your strategic electrification initiatives by their cost- and carbon-effectiveness.

While the full process outlined below is designed to guide you to implementation and beyond, we work with you to envision a process that meets your expectations and budget, and we help find financial support wherever available.

The Decarbonization Process

Phase One: Develop a Path to Net Zero

1

Gather Baseline Data

Characterize your building’s current performance, including a quantified Energy Use Intensity (EUI) benchmark, HVAC inventory, BAS trend review and analysis, energy model, and inspection/testing. Quantify Scope 1 "direct" emissions sources (on-site fossil fuel use) as well as potential Scope 1 sources (refrigerant fugitive emissions).

2

Analyze Opportunities

Develop a roadmap that identifies opportunities for energy efficiency and/or carbon reduction. Measures are prioritized and categorized as simple, low-cost energy saving opportunities, mid-cost measures rooted in long-term plan for electrification, and capital, long-term investments.

4

Investigate Alternative Energy Sources

Decarbonizing your building’s energy portfolio requires a thoughtful assessment to ensure continued occupant comfort and the best return on your dollar. Decarbonization can include common technologies such as air source heat pumps or increased solar production, or innovative technologies such as using lake water as a heat source in the winter or a heat sink in the summer for water source heat pumps. Detailed development of these measures may involve specialized design firms to determine feasibility and ROI.

5

Implement an EMIS Service

Cx Associates’ Energy Management Information System (EMIS) service offers real time monitoring, fault detection and diagnostics, and regular reports on system performance and carbon emissions. We build the EMIS directly into your building’s existing BAS and customize data points to target the systems you want to understand.

The Decarbonization Process

Phases Two, Three, Four

Phase 2

Develop Measures and Bid Documents

Develop fully implementable measures for each intervention. Our broad experience as design engineers and design reviewers means that we can provide peer-level review of designs as the owner’s representative. Your design will be better coordinated and more complete at bid time and will produce more energy efficient and maintainable systems.

Phase 3

Implementation

The management of higher-cost capital investment measures with longer construction timelines can use substantial internal resources that are often already fully utilized. Our Construction Administration and Commissioning services will ensure equipment is installed correctly, on time, and on budget.

Phase 4

Measurement and Verification

Our experience measuring and verifying saving for hundreds of efficiency projects means you will know the impact of retrofits on your carbon footprint. Energy use and generation monitoring can happen though the EMIS service or other BAS access.

Cx Associates will help you understand your building's Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and carbon emissions and will present a custom step-by-step strategy to meet your emissions reduction goals. We also aim to help you achieve greater energy efficiency and comfort for your building occupants. With our decarbonization service, you'll have access to:

HVAC and Envelope experts who understand how building systems interact.

A building system analysis of the most impactful opportunities.

A strategy for transforming your building to net zero.

Implementation support to ensure new equipment works as intended.

Decarbonization

Our decarbonization service provides short, medium, and long-term strategic planning to make your energy and carbon goals achievable.

The Decarbonization Process

Phase One: Develop a Path to Net Zero

1

Gather Baseline Data

2

Analyze Opportunities

4

Investigate Alternative Energy Sources

5

Implement an EMIS Service

The Decarbonization Process

Phases Two, Three, Four

Phase 2

Develop Measures and Bid Documents

Phase 3

Implementation

Phase 4

Measurement and Verification

Related Blog Posts

The Challenge of Decarbonizing the Grid

Jan 24, 2024 by Rachael Straub

Striving for Net Zero: Part II

Jul 12, 2023 by Krystina Kattermann

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