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Let’s Think Carbon Neutral

Let’s Think Carbon Neutral. Ella Wong Summer Solar Class Professor Wamser, PSU July 15, 2009.

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Let’s Think Carbon Neutral

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  1. Let’s Think Carbon Neutral Ella Wong Summer Solar Class Professor Wamser, PSU July 15, 2009

  2. Premise: Educating and engaging people at a personal, local neighborhood, and community level to adopt and act with a Carbon Neutral Mindset will make it easier to globally carbon down and make the terawatt challenge less daunting. The energy/climate problem can be reframed as an opportunity to make positive change.

  3. Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan • Transition Towns Movement- Community-empowering strategy for dealing with energy/climate change • Carbon foot print calculator • Carbon neutral building practices • Negawatt and integrative design concepts, conservation/efficiency • Passive House standards and other examples • Living Building Challenge- Oregon Sustainability Center • Small-scale examples of renewable energy • Neighborhood Natural Energy (N2E)- community-owned carbon neutral district energy projects in PDX • Oregon Wind- hybrid solar/wind project at new South Max Terminus • Micropower trends • Small-scale distributed/decentralized renewables • Cogeneration

  4. Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan 2009 • http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=41896 • Portland has a good start and has already reduced carbon emissions; in 2007, emissions were 1% below 1990 levels even with rapid population growth (17% decrease on per capita basis); US during this period averaged a 17% increase • Goal is to continue reducing local carbon emissions below 1990 levels- 10% by 2010, 40% by 2030, 80% by 2050 (State of Oregon’s goal is 75% below by 2050) • Plan focuses on major actions to be taken in the next 3 years

  5. Climate Action Plan (CAP) Vision • Residents live in walkable/bikeable neighborhoods that include businesses, schools, parks, and jobs. • Thriving regional economy with green-collar jobs. Products/services related to clean energy, green building, sustainable food, and waste reuse/recovery. • Homes, offices, and other buildings are durable, highly efficient, healthy, comfortable and powered primarily by solar, wind and other renewables. • Urban forest, green roofs and swales cover the community, reducing urban heat island effect, sequestering carbon, providing wildlife habitat, and cleaning air/water. • Local food/agriculture central to economic and cultural vitality of the community. Productive backyard/community gardens and thriving farmers markets. Bulk of food from local/regional sources. Residents healthier eating more locally grown grains, fruits and vegetables.

  6. CAP- Benefits • Cleans up air pollution and improves health • Strengthens economy with more local jobs • Reduces reliance on imported oil • Saves $ by using less energy

  7. 2030 CAP Objectives • Buildings and Energy • Reduce total energy use of all buildings built before 2010 by 25%. • Achieve zero net GHG emissions in all new buildings and homes. • Produce 10% of total energy used within Multnomah County from on-site renewable sources and clean district energy systems. • Action point to establish funds to help finance • Land Use and Mobility • Create vibrant neighborhoods where 90% of PDX residents and 80% of Multnomah County residents can easily walk/bike to meet all basic daily, non-work needs. • Reduce per capita daily vehicle miles traveled by 50% from 2008 levels. CAP Executive Summary pages 11-12

  8. 2030 CAP Objectives • Land Use and Mobility • Increase average fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles to 40 mpg. • Reduce the lifecycle GHG of transportation fuels by 20%. • Consumption and Solid Waste • Reduce total solid waste generated by 25%. • Recover 75% of all waste generated. • Maximize the efficiency of the waste collection system. • Urban Forestry • Expand the forest canopy to cover one-third of Portland • Food and Agriculture • Significantly increase the consumption of local food. • Reduce the consumption of carbon-intensive foods. CAP Executive Summary pages 13-15

  9. 2030 CAP Objectives • Community Engagement • Motivate all Multnomah County residents and businesses to change their behavior in ways that reduce carbon emissions. • Climate Change Preparation • Adapt successfully to a changing climate. • Local Government Operations • Reduce carbon emissions from City and County operations 50% from 1990 levels. CAP Executive Summary pages 16-17

  10. Transition Towns Movement (http://www.transitiontowns.org/) • Community-empowering strategy for dealing with energy and climate challenges • Founded in Kinsale, Ireland (2005) and then to Totnes, England (2006); now worldwide • Rob Hopkins details strategy in his book, The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience

  11. Transition Towns Movement • Engages and educates community about energy/climate change • Has community members practice positive visioning of a future with less fossil fuel energy • What would you like the local neighborhood or community to be like 5 years from now? 10 years? 20 years? 50 years? This is an opportunity to create your future. • Engages the community in creating a detailed plan (Energy or Carbon Descent Plan) to make these visions come true, working step by step backwards from the future vision • Start implementing plan and revise accordingly • Celebrate progress made

  12. Transition Town Movement in Portland • Transition PDX- central Portland group • http://www.thedirt.org/tpdx • Neighborhood Transition Groups • Lents • Sunnyside • Oak Grove • HAND • Woodlawn • Richmond • Reed

  13. Individual Actions. Here are some actions individuals can take right now: Calculate your carbon footprint — visit www.b-e-f.org/calc. Get free help with what your business can do — visit www.bestbusinesscenter.org or call (503) 823-3919. Contact the Energy Trust of Oregon at www.energytrust.org or (866) ENTRUST (968-7878) for a free home energy review. Discover how driving doesn’t have to be your only option — visit www.drivelesssavemore.com. Contact your utilities to sign up for clean energy. Portland General Electric — www.portlandgeneral.com or (800) 542-8818 Pacifi Corp — www.pacificpower.net or (888) 221-7070 NW Natural — www.nwnatural.com or (800) 422-4012 From CAP Executive Summary, page 10

  14. 6. Learn about energy-efficiency and green building for your next home project — visit www.buildgreen411.com or call (503) 823-5431. 7. Reduce stuff. Contact the Metro Recycling Information hotline at (503) 234-3000 to learn how to reduce the amount of garbage you generate. Count the number of times you eat red meat in a week; replace 20 percent of your red meat consumption with other food. Ask a friend what she or he is doing to address climate change. From CAP Executive Summary, page 10

  15. Other Carbon Footprint Calculators http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

  16. Carbon Footprint Of Best Conserving Americans Is Still Double Global Average ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2008) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428120658.htm A representation of different estimated annual carbon footprints. Government services were a major reason for the relatively large U.S. average, according to an MIT class led by Professor Timothy Gutowski of mechanical engineering. (Credit: MIT)

  17. http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html http://www.eoearth.org/article/Carbon_footprint

  18. Building Carbon Neutral • Buildings use lots of energy (48% of US energy consumption and 76% of US electricity consumption) and are responsible for about half of the green house gas emissions in the United States. • Following charts include energy of building operations as well as embodied energy of building materials • Based on 2000 data from the US Energy Information Administration

  19. US Energy Consumption http://architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html

  20. US Electricity Consumption http://architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html

  21. Energy Use in Typical Portland Home John Sorenson, N2e https://thechangexchange.org/public/launcher/22

  22. Sources of Heating for Oregon Homes http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/residential.cfm/state=OR#sources

  23. PGE’s Energy Resource Mix http://www.portlandgeneral.biz/CustomerNews/articles/2009april/images/chart_2009_2015_comparison_lg.gif

  24. Energy Smart Buildings • Net Zero Energy Building- on average, generates as much energy on-site that it uses • Carbon Neutral Building- has a net zero carbon footprint with net zero carbon emissions. • On-site energy generated with renewables. • No fossil fuels. No GHGs.

  25. Certification Programs/Standards Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222 Earth Advantage http://www.earthadvantage.com/ Living Building Challenge http://ilbi.org/

  26. Produce Negawatts, NOT Megawatts • Term coined by Amory Lovins (Cofounder & Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute) • A negawatt is a watt of electricity saved by using it more efficiently or at a smarter time. • Cheap energy in the past has allowed the commonplace practice of wasteful energy habits. • Tremendous reductions in energy consumption can be achieved by cleaning up this “waste” through conservation and greater efficiencies. • Easier, cheaper, and faster to produce a negawatt than a megawatt. http://www.rmi.org/

  27. Big Savings with Integrative Design • “Holistic” viewpoint that looks at entire building and combines technologies with synergistic effect. Optimize WHOLE building/system(s) for maximum benefits. • Design priority- save carbon 1st, energy 2nd. • Contrary to popular thinking, you can live comfortably in a thoughtfully designed building in a cold climate without installing a heating system. Similarly, it is possible to live comfortably in a home in the tropics without A/C. http://www.rmi.org/

  28. http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid113.php, E03-13, p. 9

  29. Passive House • Super-insulated “Passive House” concept originated in Canada (1977) • Improved Passivhaus German version eliminated furnace (Darmstadt, 1990) • Germany and Austria lead in the number of Passive Houses built • First Passive House built in North America in Urbana, Illinois (2003) by Katrin Klingenberg- http://www.e-colab.org/ecolab/SmithHouse.html http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2009/02/passive_house_the_idea_of_the.html

  30. Passive House Standards • Highest energy standard, reducing heating energy consumption by 90% • Heated primarily by passive solar gain and internal gains from people and household equipment • Super insulation with air-tight shell (≤ 0.6 ACH @ 50 pascal pressure, measured by blower-door test) • Limitation of thermal bridging (≤ 0.01 W/mK) • Additional heat source generally not needed; no furnace or HVAC http://www.passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PassiveHouseInfo.html

  31. Passive House Standards • Instead of furnace or HVAC, energy recovery ventilator for fresh air supply and excellent indoor air quality (≥ 75% efficiency with low electric consumption @ 0.45 Wh/m3) • Out-going warm air passes along side clean, cooler air coming in without mixing; exchanging heat with 90% efficiency in process • Annual heat requirement ≤ 15 kWh/m2/year • Primary Energy ≤ 120 kWh/m2/year (heating, hot water, & electricity) • Highly efficient windows, u-value ≤ 0.8 Watt/m2/K (triple pane Ar-filled) • Additional cost to build is about 5 to 7% (offset by future energy savings and reduced capital cost- no furnace to buy) http://www.passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PassiveHouseInfo.html

  32. http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Kran/Passive_House_Spring_Winter.htmhttp://www.passivhaustagung.de/Kran/Passive_House_Spring_Winter.htm

  33. http://www.passivhuscentrum.se/passivhus.html?&L=1

  34. http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/envelope_passive_house.pnghttp://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/envelope_passive_house.png

  35. An example: The thermal bridge at the joint of the interior masonry wall with the slab-on-grade can be avoided almost completely if a porous concrete block (yellow) is used for the first row of bricks. http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/passive_house_avoiding_thermal_brigdes.html

  36. Infrared images assess heat leakage- Conventional building on left and Passive House on right http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/Passive_house_insulation.htm

  37. Smith House (2003)- Urbana, Illinois • 1st Passive House in US • Designed by Katrin Klingenberg http://barrier-busting.com/2009/01/net-energy-homes-part-5-passive/

  38. The New York Times December 27, 2008 The Energy Challenge No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in ‘Passive Houses’ By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html?pagewanted=print Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, OR Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Passive House movement reaches Pacific Northwest Portland architect says system focused on saving energy could revolutionize green design BY SAM BENNETT http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDetail.htm/2009/01/21/Passive-House-movement-reaches-Pacific-Northwest-Portland-architect-says-system-focused-on-saving-en The Oregonian Wednesday February 04, 2009 Passive house: The idea of the airtight home takes hold among green-building experts by Ruth Mullen http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2009/02/passive_house_the_idea_of_the.html

  39. Heating or Cooling Your Building Naturally: Solar Architectural Solutions (Hardcover, 2006) • by Virginia B. Macdonald • Pioneered the use of natural ventilation methods in Hawaii • A/C not needed • Effective use of trade winds • Effective use of passive vertical ventilation/thermal chimney effect • Cool air intakes near ground level • Warmer air vents near ceiling • Natural ventilation may be “healthier” than A/C controlled environment

  40. Workplace air-conditioning and health services attendance among French middle-aged women: a prospective cohort study P Preziosi, S Czernichow, P Gehanno and S Hercberg International Journal of Epidemiology 2004 33(5):1120-1123 • 920 women, 49 to 65 years old in 1999 • Looked at health service attendance and sickness absence • HVAC group versus natural ventilation group • About 2 times more visits to ENT specialists and about 2 times more sickness absences in HVAC group • Visits to dermatologists and global medical services may be higher in HVAC group (p= .06 in both cases)

  41. Ventilation and health in non-industrial indoor environments: report from a European Multidisciplinary Scientific Consensus Meeting (EUROVEN) P. Wargocki, J. Sundell, W. Bischof Indoor Air 2002 12(2): 113-128 • Multidisciplinary group reviewed 105 peer-reviewed papers • Ventilation strongly associated with comfort and health • Association between ventilation and productivity • Increasing outdoor air supply rates improves perceived air quality • Outdoor air supply rates below 25 l/s per person increases the risk of sick building syndrome symptoms, increases sick leave, and decreases productivity • May be increased risk of SBS symptoms with A/C compared to natural ventilation

  42. http://www.rmi.org/

  43. http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid113.php, E03-13, p. 47

  44. Outdoor parallel to building-based integrative design • Some similarities to organic permaculture practices • Sepp Holzer (“Austrian Rebel Farmer”) • Transformative permaculture farm (The Krameterhof) in the Austrian Alps • Average annual temperature of 39.5F (4.2C) • Altitude between 3,300 and 4,900 feet (1,000 to 1,500 meters) • Uses integrative permaculture design principles to create microclimates to grow plants typically found in warmer, more humid climates. Apricots, figs, eucalyptus, kiwis,… • Very low carbon practice- "Once planted, I do absolutely nothing. It really is just nature working for itself - no weeding, no pruning, no watering, no fertilizer, no pesticides." http://www.celsias.com/article/permaculture-miracles-in-the-austrian-mountains/

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