by Brianna Crandall — April 13, 2012—Two projects, both existing building retrofits, have completed the first full set of third-party audits for Net Zero Energy Building Certification from the International Living Future Institute just five months after ILFI launched the net zero certification option.
Painters Hall, a community center housing a café in the sustainability-minded Pringle Creek community in Salem, Oregon, and IDeAs Z² Design Facility, a showcase office building for Integrated Design Associates in San Jose, California, each earned certification as net zero energy buildings. Painters Hall also achieved ‘Petal Recognition’ under the Living Building Challenge.
Net Zero Energy Building Certification is linked to the Living Building Challenge, widely considered to be the world’s most stringent and progressive green building program. As with the Living Building Challenge, certification is based on actual performance rather than modeled outcomes. Buildings must be operational for at least 12 consecutive months prior to evaluation. To earn Net Zero Energy Building Certification, three of the Living Building Challenge’s 20 Imperatives must be met completely, and elements of two others are included.
“With recent research and news reports putting the net zero energy market at more than $1 trillion by 2035, third-party certification is critical. Until now, it’s been impossible to know if projects claiming to be net zero are performing as expected,” says Jason F. McLennan, the Institute’s CEO. “Our sincere hope is that those who pursue the net zero energy path seek to further transform the industry — and the world — by pursuing Living Building Challenge certification as the next logical step in project evolution.”
The developers of Pringle Creek Community converted an 80-year-old existing building into an ecologically and socially progressive community center within the 32-acre mixed-use redevelopment in Salem. A 20.2kW rooftop array of solar panels produces enough energy for the building’s needs. The project achieved the Energy, Equity, and Beauty Petals of the Living Building Challenge. The Net Zero Energy Building Certification requirements are encompassed within these petals.
The Ideas Z² Facility transformed a U.S. Bank building constructed in the 1960s. It is designed to meet 100 percent of its net energy requirements using renewable energy from photovoltaics. The building has a netmetered rooftop photovoltaic system that provides enough electricity for the building’s needs.
