ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND NET-ZERO BUILDINGS: GSA & RMI ANSWER THE CALL

The document outlines the GSA's National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) Program and provides a framework for achieving energy savings of 50% or more in federal buildings. It highlights the effectiveness of bundling energy conservation measures (ECMs), engaging diverse stakeholders, and utilizing a 'technical potential' tool to identify aggressive energy goals. Case studies, such as the Almeric Christian Federal Building, demonstrate the feasibility of net-zero energy through the ESPC process, while data analysis shows that NDER projects achieved an average of 38% energy savings, more than double the 18.5% average of non-NDER federal ESPC projects.

• The GSA's National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) Program significantly outperformed standard federal energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs), achieving an average energy savings of 38% compared to 18.5% for a sample of 70 non-NDER projects.
• Deep energy retrofits, which often target savings of 50% or more, are essential for making net-zero energy buildings cost-effective by substantially reducing energy demand before applying renewable energy sources.
• The Almeric Christian Federal Building in the U.S. Virgin Islands is projected to be the first net-zero energy project under the federal ESPC process, with an anticipated 100% energy use reduction.
• Successful deep retrofits rely on 'bundling' energy conservation measures (ECMs), which involves grouping measures to account for interactive effects across systems and combining long-payback items with short-payback items to create an acceptable return.
• The 'Technical Potential' tool is used to challenge conventional thinking and drive more aggressive goal setting by determining the maximum possible energy reduction before considering constraints.
• Deep energy savings are not necessarily dependent on high energy prices, high baseline energy consumption, or advanced technology, but rather on agency support, thorough audits, and an integrative design approach.

APA

RMI (2015). ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND NET-ZERO BUILDINGS: GSA & RMI ANSWER THE CALL. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_GSAPtoPWS2015-ExecSumm.pdf

Chicago

RMI. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND NET-ZERO BUILDINGS: GSA & RMI ANSWER THE CALL. 2015. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_GSAPtoPWS2015-ExecSumm.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND NET-ZERO BUILDINGS: GSA & RMI ANSWER THE CALL |date=2015 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_GSAPtoPWS2015-ExecSumm.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2015energy, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND NET-ZERO BUILDINGS: GSA \& RMI ANSWER THE CALL}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2015}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_GSAPtoPWS2015-ExecSumm.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }