Workshop on High Performance Residential and Commercial Buildings
June 26th, 2008

As part of its mission to promote more energy efficient buildings in the Southwest, SWEEP is supporting local initiatives to develop and implement a range of strategies for promoting energy efficiency improvements in residential and commercial properties, including advanced building energy codes, green building incentives, and minimum energy efficiency standards for publicly funded projects.  

SWEEP will be organizing a series of training workshops in Colorado focusing on strategies for advancing efficient buildings through above-code programs and voluntary incentives.  The first workshop, held on June 26th at the Wellington E. Webb Building, was organized by SWEEP and the City and County of Denver to support implementation of GreenPrint Denver, which recommends adopting energy codes that are at least 30% more stringent than current requirements for new or renovated residential and commercial buildings (see sidebar).   Approximately 40 local officials participated in the workshop, representing more than 15 local jurisdictions in Colorado.  The workshop covered the following topics:

• the features and performance of highly efficient residential and commercial buildings
• examples of local programs and initiatives with above-code requirements
• strategies for increasing the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings through building codes and incentive programs
• utility incentives and technical assistance programs to support higher performance levels in new residential and commercial construction
• measurement and compliance strategies
• issues and next steps, including opportunities for regional coordination and collaboration, and identifying stakeholders involved in developing advanced codes.

SWEEP and the City and County of Denver gratefully acknowledge the Governor’s Energy Office and the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) for sponsoring this workshop.

Workshop Presentations

• High Performance Residential and Commercial Buildings
  Ron Judkoff, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
   
• Residential Above-Code Strategies
  Eric Makela and Michelle Britt, Britt/Makela Group
   
• Residential Case Studies: Above-Code Programs
   
  • City of Boulder GreenPoints Program
    Paul Kreischer, Lightly Treading
  • Energy Efficiency in Multi-Family Homes
    Chris Fuller, Governor’s Energy Office

• Commercial Above-Code Strategies
  Eric Makela and Michelle Britt, Britt/Makela Group
   
• Commercial Above-Code Strategies: - Enforcement Strategies
  Eric Makela and Michelle Britt, Britt/Makela Group
   
• Xcel Energy’s Energy Design Assistance Program
  Jessie Peterson, Xcel Energy

Related Links

• Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
  For more information on beyond-code programs, including profiles of green building initiatives, see the Building Efficiency section of the SWEEP website.
   
• Governor’s Energy Office, State of Colorado
  www.colorado.gov/energy/
   
• GreenPrint Denver
  www.greenprintdenver.org
   
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems
  www.nrel.gov/buildings/buildings_thermal.html
   
• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
  www.usgbc.org and www.greenplaybook.org

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© 2002-2008 Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
2260 Baseline Rd. Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 info@swenergy.org
 

Last Updated: 07/10/2008