It is within reach to decarbonize the building sector within the next few decades. This can be accomplished with a combination of better buildings (such as Passive House), electrification, and a renewably-powered electrical grid. Buildings can also be built with their own on-site renewables to create a net zero energy building. This course provides a comprehensive exploration of our greening grid, zero energy buildings, and Passive House buildings. Topics include grid fundamentals, building energy dynamics, emissions profiles, renewable systems, energy economics, passive architecture, energy budgets, site and source energy, policy, codes, financing, and incentive structures. A variety of assignments, projects, and teaching tools are used in this course, including analysis assignments, a team pitch, weekly report-outs, a textbook and numerous references, live guest speakers, and a guest speaker library.
