The Transition to Clean Energy and the Role of Building Envelope Efficiency

Abstract

The electrification of building systems and the improvement of their envelopes must work in tandem to achieve a truly energy efficient and sustainable outcome. Many jurisdictions, including Boston, MA, and Acton, MA, have already released climate action plans, detailing many steps that can be taken to decarbonize. These plans have many specific strategies when it comes to buildings, from incentivizing building improvements on private property to retrofitting municipal buildings. Building electrification includes many aspects, from the electrification of household appliances like stoves to the conversion of traditional heating and cooling systems to heat pumps; an electrification roadmap by Acton lists many specifics when it comes to the electrification of its municipal buildings. The improvement of envelope, encompassing aspects of a building such as its insulation, air sealing, windows, moisture control, and ventilation system, is an aspect of sustainability that is arguably more important than the pure electrification of systems. Envelope improvements will improve heat pump efficiency at colder temperatures, and will result in significant energy use and cost reductions.