In order to combat climate change, the U.S. is aiming to decarbonize its energy sector by 2050. Within this sector, the residential buildings market has one of the most diverse existing landscapes and generally requires the most individual attention by energy auditors and contractors per unit of energy saved. Existing residential buildings need a pathway towards a more streamlined approach to decarbonization.
RMI, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are collaborating to develop a process for modeling the existing building stock, assigning certain existing building configurations with specific upgrade packages, and ultimately prioritizing certain segments of the country for building envelope upgrades. A detailed overview of the logic associated with this tool will be published soon.