Friday, January 21, 2011

Good morning,

Net Zero Energy Consumption. Impossible? Hardly. In fact,
the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado has achieved just
that, or at least as close to it as makes no difference.

Scroll down to find out more.

Thanks for reading,

Your Living Green editor

Email the Editor


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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is designed
to create as much energy as it consumes, making it one of
the world's most energy-efficient buildings.

But it doesn't use any new, miracle technologies to achieve
this end, rather extremely energy efficient design.

Light louvers and lots of windows are designed to maximize
daylight going into the workspaces.

Rows of solar panels peek over the roof line. Light-diffusing
shades frame all the south-facing windows. LED lights line a
walkway made of porous pavers that allow rainwater to seep
back into the ground instead of flowing into a storm drain.

Much of the exterior consists of large panels that are made
entirely of local aggregate and are layered over insulation
and interior concrete walls. The panels dissipate radiant
heat, preventing it from entering the interior.

A portion of the building's south side is sheathed in another
energy-saving feature ? a large swath of corrugated metal
siding, punctured by thousands of tiny holes, which draw in
air that's heated by the sun-warmed metal and then pumped
underground into the unique thermal storage facility. Like
most of the structure's energy-saving features, the trans-
pired solar collectors are completely passive.

And, of course, some of the best ideas are the easiest.
Unlike many modern commercial buildings, the majority of the
many windows also open!