Commercial Buildings Research Projects
Electricity consumption in the commercial buildings sector doubled between 1980 and 2000, and current projections indicate it could increase another 50% by 2025 (Energy Information Agency 2005). Energy consumption in the commercial building sector will continue to increase until buildings can be designed to produce enough energy to offset the growing energy demand of these buildings. Our goal is see net-zero energy buildings become the standard in the commercial building industry by 2025. A zero energy building produces as much energy on-site as it consumes on an annual basis, primarily by using photovoltaics and other solar energy technologies. NREL plans to reach this goal by focusing on the development of integrated design strategies to enable commercial buildings to be designed, constructed, and operated using 60% to 70% less energy.
