Buildings
It’s Time to Incentivize Residential Heat Pumps
The United States has made significant progress decarbonizing the electricity sector in recent years, and as the grid continues to get cleaner, cities and states are turning their attention to other sectors, such as direct fossil fuel use in buildings. The use of gas or fuel oil for heating, hot…
New Resources for Cities to Unlock Housing Improvements
As we all spend significantly more time inside our homes during COVID-19 shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders, understanding how our homes perform (and the implications for affordability, comfort, and health) has arguably never been more important. And yet in most parts of the country, the status-quo is that residents…
Implementing Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Standards in Urban Development
The construction and operation of buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global CO2 emissions. As the urgency of the climate challenge increases, efforts to address carbon emissions in the buildings and construction sector is shifting from a focus almost exclusively on operations to the full life cycle of…
Indoor Air Pollution: the Link between Climate and Health
As a global pandemic shines a new light on health, air pollution, and the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations, it exposes the need to protect the public from risks both outside and inside the home. Outdoor air pollution is a serious threat: five out of 10 Americans live in areas…
Video Check-ups for Home Improvement and Resilience
Kristin Dupre’s energy programs at Energy New England had ground to a halt. They had a full season scheduled ahead, but due to the coronavirus, all that work went on hold. However, they found a way to adapt and the results look very promising. Other companies are rolling out variations…
