Civil Municipal - Feb 2024

Those interventions include electrification of heating, efficient HVAC equipment, whole building retrofits, digization of management systems, LED lighting, and old equipment upgrades. Focusing on upgrading existing buildings is effective because, the report continues, 75 percent of buildings already in use today will still be standing in 2050. While funding such upgrades is a difficult barrier for many organizations to overcome, the report notes that zero-interest energy efficiency programs, supporting energy-as-a-service models can be helpful. Helping to create a technically skilled workforce is also imperative. “Designing lower-intensity buildings is a key part of the energy transition, as cities are expected to grow around 50 percent by 2050,” the report notes. “Key aspects of green building design include the use of lower-intensity materials, high levels of insulation to allow for passive heating, design to align buildings for maximum natural light absorption, as well as electrified heating and cooling.” These features can reduce building operational costs by 40 percent. 18 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 02