Energy costs keep going up but there is something we can do to keep those costs in check. Commentator Scott Carlberg says we can all find ways to become more energy efficient. Some of that efficiency will come from the buildings we choose to build.
(Transcript)
Secure Our Energy Future with Efficient Buildings
By Scott Carlberg
Kansans needlessly spend good money on energy, and something can be done about it.
Energy costs are a hot topic, of course, and so are the ways to hold down energy expenditures. Here’s a dollars-and-cents energy idea that's so true it almost fails to be obvious: The cheapest power plant is the one that doesn’t have to be built.
So, if people could save enough energy – decrease power demand – they could reduce the number of new power generation plants. If utilities don't have to build new plants, it's less that the customers must fund through electric bills. It all kind of makes sense. Saving energy is also saving money.
Buildings are a significant way to save energy; they account for 36% of our energy use.
Real energy savings in buildings is both easy and kind of difficult though.
New buildings are a slam dunk with updated building codes and technology. Consider that half of the homes and buildings of 2050 have not even been built yet. They have decades to stand. Their energy benefits are good for the long-term.
Existing buildings are a different story. Adjusting thermostats or keeping furnace filters clean – those are easy. Big savings don’t happen that way, though. Real savings take effort.
Let’s look at Kansas. Our housing stock is varied – different ages and styles of buildings. Different energy profiles. Kansas has more than 1.2 million occupied homes. About 16% were built before 1940. Almost 60% before 1980, before new energy-saving technologies, and before energy consciousness really took hold.
Since 1980, energy consumption per unit of floor space is down more than 10% for residential and more than 20% for commercial buildings. That's good progress, but it’s offset because new houses are larger than before.
New single-family houses gained, on average, the size of one more bedroom from 2010 to 2019.
It’s not just houses. Upgrading commercial buildings saves energy and can make the most of existing building materials – keep it all from the landfill. “Retro-commissioning” is a name for that, a systematic look at an older building; find design or construction issues, problems as equipment has aged, or even as the building usage has changed.
The message to Kansans is – don’t blow money and energy out the door, through the windows, and even through the walls. Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the low-hanging fruit of energy savings. Conservation pays back for years. This is a matter of Kansans helping Kansans improve our energy security.
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Commentator Scott Carlberg has more than 40 years’ experience in energy industry communications. His work has been with oil, gas, and electricity organizations, in corporate, nonprofit, research, and higher education. He lives in Leawood.