Your building has the potential to change the world.
Existing buildings consume approximately 40 percent of the energy and emit nearly half of the carbon dioxide in the US each year. But few realize the value in existing buildings and how easy it is to get to “zero energy” or low-energy consumption. Through deep energy retrofits, existing buildings can reduce environmental impacts that contribute to climate change, while improving human health and productivity for building occupants.
In The Power of Existing Buildings, academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, and construction and building experts Craig Stevenson and Beth Eckenrode, explain how to realize the potential of existing buildings and make them perform like new. This step-by-step guide will help readers to: understand where to start a project; develop financial models and realize cost savings; assemble an expert team; and align goals with numerous sustainability programs.
The following book excerpt will get you thinking about how and why you'd want to retrofit your building and make it a high-performance space.
