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Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative

Net-Zero Energy Goals and Objectives

Photo of the exterior of a building. The left wing appears to be two stories tall and the façade is all glass with a curved roof. The right wing appears to be just one story, is more rectangular, and has a glass façade.

Engineers design and build commercial net-zero energy buildings today. Learn more about net-zero energy buildings such as the Lewis Center at Oberlin College in Ohio. Photo courtesy of NREL/ Robb Williamson

The U.S. Department of Energy's Commercial Building Initiative collaborates with the private sector, national laboratories, other federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations to advance energy-efficient and green commercial building technologies. Here you'll find information about the Commercial Building Initiative's (CBI) goal and objectives, key activities, and the Multi-Year Program Plan.

Commercial Building Initiative's Goal

CBI's goal, as set by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Building Technologies Program, is to achieve marketable, net-zero energy commercial buildings in all U.S. climate zones by 2025. Net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) generate as much energy as they consume through cutting-edge efficiency technologies and on-site systems such as solar power and geothermal energy. This target meets the charge of Section 422 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (PDF 738 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

To reach this goal, CBI is working with DOE national laboratories to improve how U.S. commercial buildings use energy. DOE has also established alliances and partnerships that bring together private sector industry leaders to determine ways to reduce energy consumption, energy costs, and environmental impacts of commercial buildings.

Key Activities

To achieve NZEBs, CBI researches technologies, strategies, and tools to improve energy savings over current building codes. The image below illustrates the progression toward NZEBs and key activities and resources developed to reach each energy savings milestone.

Graphic image showing an arrow going left to right, with the point at the right. To the right of the point, the text reads, 'Goal by 2025: marketable net-zero energy buildings.' Four points on the arrow are indicated with black lines and text below each line. Moving left to right, the text reads: 1. Base Scenario: Current commercial building codes and standards. 2. 30% Energy Savings: Advanced Energy Design Guides 3. 50% Energy Savings: Commercial Building Energy Alliances and High Performance Buildings Database 4. 100% Marketable Net-Zero Energy Building: Definitions and Net-Zero Energy Database

The Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) is pursuing the goal of marketable net-zero energy buildings through research and partnerships. CBI has developed tools and resources to help the commercial buildings industry improve energy efficiency at various levels of energy savings.

Building Energy CodesASHRAE StandardsAdvanced Energy Design Guides Commercial Building Energy AlliancesHigh Performance Buildings DatabaseNet-Zero Energy ProjectsNet-Zero Energy Definitions

Objectives

CBI strives to do the following to support and achieve the net-zero energy buildings goal:

  • Promote technology research and development
  • Sponsor pilot and demonstration projects across multiple climate zones
  • Provide technical assistance to encourage widespread technology adoption
  • Develop training materials and programs for builders
  • Promote consumer-focused education that makes clear the need for efficiency in new and existing buildings
  • Work with code-setting bodies to ensure technologies are properly deployed
  • Analyze and propose incentives for builders, landlords, and tenants to ensure that cost-effective investments are made on a life-cycle basis
  • Develop targeted tools for measurement and verification of energy savings.

Multi-Year Program Plan

Learn more about the goals and objectives for energy-efficient commercial buildings in the Building Technologies Program Multi-Year Program Plan.