Creating Zero Net Energy Buildings without Fossil Fuels,
Upcoming Seminar and Webinar

How can we achieve a carbon-free economy by 2050 at less cost for our energy than we spend today?
What heats and cools without consuming water and without generating CO2, all the while enabling your building to become Zero Net Energy?
Do Federal and State zero net energy plans and programs adequately support greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency, and water conservation goals?
What renewable source of energy can drive renewable heating and cooling toward a Zero Net Energy building?
What do you get when you put right-sized Solar PV, Solar Thermal and Geothermal together?
“Creating Zero Net Energy Buildings with Off-the-Shelf Technologies” will tackle these questions and a full agenda of related topics as experts explore what a carbon-free, electric-based economy will look like, powered by wind, water, and solar renewable energy sources. Today’s high efficiency envelopes, ventilation, and lighting systems, coupled with geothermal heat pumps’ access to the sub-surface thermal resource will lead the way to provide efficient and comfortable heating, water heating and cooling year-round.
A professional slate of speakers will provide an in-depth view of how residential, commercial and institutional buildings can meet both near-and long-term Zero Net Energy (ZNE) goals. Case studies of various types of buildings will demonstrate how ZNE and energy efficiency goals can be achieved with existing technologies that are seldom used in concert with each other in the same design.
While some are satisfied with just zero net electricity used for a building site, CaliforniaGeo is not. Our vision of ZNE is that all thermal and electric energy produced or used at the building site is derived from the sky or the earth (without combustion). Why not choose an emission-free path for your ZNE building?
Geothermal heat pumps can and should be a large part of the ZNE effort in every state and climate. Not convinced? According to the 2013 Integrated Energy Policy Report, the California Energy Commission has concluded geothermal heat pumps are a viable energy efficiency strategy.
“The Energy Commission supports the proper design and installation of geothermal heat pump technologies as a strategy for meeting California’s energy efficiency goals.”
What: Seminar+Webinar – Creating Zero Net Energy Buildings with Off-the-Shelf Technologies
When: Thursday, April 23, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PDT)
Where: San Jose City College and Online
Price: Variable ($25.00 – $150.00)
Who should attend?
Everyone who cares about our future energy needs and the policies and technologies we can use today to reach our goals should consider attending this important event. Architects, engineers, builders, contractors (HVAC, mechanical, solar), school administrators and facilities staff, as well as policy makers and representatives of involved government agencies will benefit from the experience.

Click here for more information.

Speaker Spotlights

David M. Johnson, AIA, Partner | Managing Director, William McDonough + Partners

Cradle to Cradle® Design for Energy Positive Places: Nike, NASA, and More

California’s current goals for sustainability are increasingly aggressive. Applying the Cradle to Cradle® framework for design has never been as appropriate as it is today. Planning ahead with an eye toward recyclable and reusable building materials can carry a building’s efficiencies well beyond the energy and raw materials it will consume throughout it’s life cycle.
• The Cradle to Cradle® framework as design philosophy
• Beyond energy efficiency, beyond zero energy: getting to positive
• Net Energy Positive @ NASA Sustainability Base
• Net Energy Positive @ Nike EU Headquarters
• Design for continuous improvement
• The role of geothermal solutions

Marco Alves, P.E., PAE Engineers

Achieving ZNE+W Design at the Building and District scale with Geothermal System

Sustainability is the opportunity for people occupying working or living space to be maximize working/living efficiency with maximum comfort and minimal environmental impact to all the earth’s resources. PAE continues its award-winning efforts to advance this cause in a wider variety of building types and site locations. This segment features how they approach that task, how they’ve achieved it, and the role of geothermal heat pumps in their efforts to increase the number and notoriety of the world’s best-performing buildings.

Holistic approach to ZNE+W design
• Know your site resources (climate and other site resources analysis)
• Envelope design for ZNE+W design
• Internal loads (site energy and water use)
• Geo-Exchange and system selection for ZNE+W design
• Integrated design of systems
• Renewable energy generation
• Water capture and re-use
The Energy (EUI), Water (WUI), and Geo-Exchange nexus
• CA ZNE plan
• Energy and water use in CA
• Saving energy, saves water, saves energy
• System selection options
• Geo-Exchange = Energy & Water savings
Bullitt: ZNE+W design at the building scale
RMI: ZNE Positive design at the building scale
Whitestripes: ZNE+W design at the district scale

Michael Koenig, Project Leader, Honda Smart Home, American Honda Motor Co, Inc., Environmental Business Development Office Honda Smart Home US

Honda Smart Home, Designing a Vision for Zero Carbon Living and Personal Mobility

Honda has always strived for the highest mileage in every vehicle class they produce. Now, they hav e taken that principle to the highest possible level, marrying the electric car (80% net efficiency) to the Smart Home concept to produce carbon-free ZNE living. See how the Honda Smart Home powers both itself AND your transportation!
• Residential ZNE Case Study – Overview of the project
• Technical concerns with ZNE
• HEMS system
• GHP system to lower house loads
• Passive design for total system efficiency
• Efficiency and quality of life through lighting
• Sustainability is more than just ZNE
• How to move the needle to help make this future a reality

Bruce Baccei, Emerging Technologies Project Manager, Energy R&D, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Passive and Active Solar Thermal with Geothermal are Key Tools for Getting to ZNE

Every new building has the opportunity at it’s design stage to minimize energy consumption by using passive features to make it a solar collector, and a daylighting collector to minimize interior loads. Other active choices in materials and thermal distribution can cut building demand and please anyone’s electric utility. These steps were incorporated in SMUD’s new service center, along with use of underground thermal resources. This utility sees the potential of geothermal heat pump technology to improve its load factor while reducing grid demand.
• Energy Efficiency
• Passive Solar (Summer Night Cooling & Winter Heating)
• Active Solar Thermal
• SMUD’s history and experience with geothermal
• SMUD East Campus: Geothermal with Radiant Ceiling Delivery Heating & Cooling

Paul Bony, Director of Residential Market Development & Western Regional Sales, ClimateMaster, CaliforniaGeo Board Member

Optimizing Solar Photovoltaics with Geothermal Heat Pumps

Your current (or next) building can benefit from what’s become a near-perfect partnership of renewable energy by solar and underground resources as you head for serious energy reductions or all the way to True ZNE. Learn how the sky and the earth can provide the solution both you and your grid utility will love. Carbon-free buildings are the future, and these mature technologies are here today (solar PV, solar thermal, and geothermal heat pumps). They work well in every U.S. climate, so what are YOU waiting for?
• GHPs can displace electrical use while serving thermal loads
• Solar PV is the only way to make carbon-free electricity on-site
• The electric grid serves as a battery and balancing mechanism
• Less emphasis on central generation, more on distribution
• Geothermal as a solution to “Duck Curve” challenge-free ZNE
• Net energy metering makes this possible
• Utility supplied power will be increasingly from renewables
• Solar and geothermal both can shave peaks
• GHPs work with a stable temperature seasonal solar collector, available 24/7/365