The city of Denver is set to implement one of the most ambitious building- decarbonization plans in the country to date, presenting a host of emerging opportunities for contractors to play a role in getting buildings started down a long path to widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and net zero energy status.
Approved by the city council in late November, the ordinance sets goals for existing buildings to begin reducing their carbon footprint to a measurable level by 2024, reaching a point in 2040 when Denver’s building emissions are 20% of current levels. The interim goal is to have buildings larger than 25,000 square feet meet tailored energy use intensity targets that will bring their energy usage down 30% by 2030. That will be achieved through a mix of approaches that include phasing out natural gas-fired infrastructure, expanding LED lighting, utilizing more solar energy and improving overall energy efficiency. Buildings under 25,000 square feet won’t be spared, but they won’t be tasked with achieving the more rigid energy reduction targets required of larger buildings.
Denver’s ordinance joins a wave of city and state government decarbonization initiatives across the country but may be among the most detailed and far-reaching. The city characterizes its plan as “the first to require all commercial and multifamily buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and building electrification.” A review by buildings policy advancement group Institute for Market Transformation calls it “notable for its comprehensive approach to building decarbonization, utilizing three separate policy mechanisms to drive energy efficiency and electrification of thermal energy loads in covered buildings: a building performance standard with energy efficiency requirements; prescriptive efficiency requirements for small commercial and multifamily buildings; and electrification requirements for space and water heating equipment.”
Though the initiative is demanding will require expenditures by building owners and tenants to come into compliance, drafters were cognizant of the need to keep burdens manageable. Katrina Managan, building teams lead for the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, says many required improvements will require investment, but that multiple avenues to compliance will likely be available.
“We’ve tried to design this in a way that we can get better performance out of buildings without a lot of upfront cost, or that provide a good return (in energy savings) for building owners over time,” she says.
Celeste Cizik, principal/existing buildings service director for Group14 Engineering, a Denver energy consulting firm that was on the task force that drafted the ordinance, says it steers clear of being overly prescriptive on how buildings come into compliance, and intentionally avoids scenarios where owners find themselves cornered and facing huge costs. Still, experiences will vary depending on where they start.
“Some buildings won’t have to do much of anything, but others will be faced with reducing emissions 50 percent,” she says.
One remediation scenario that could prove costly, but potentially lucrative for electrical contractors, is upgrading electrical service. Older buildings faced with going fully electric could have no choice but to overhaul the service infrastructure to accommodate more demand. But that’s a prime example of the kind of owner burden the ordinance seeks to avoid, says Managan.
“Adding electrical capacity could be very expensive, but that shouldn’t be necessary the way the ordinance is structured,” she says. “There may be cases where going fully electric would benefit from a panel upgrade, but we want it to only come into play in situations where it’s cost effective to do so.”
But service upgrades are far from the only opportunity the ordinance presents to electrical contractors.
“What could drive a lot of work for ECs is smaller buildings that will turn to LED lighting upgrades or solar, as well as motor upgrades to meet energy use intensity guidelines,” says Cizik.
Another improvement that’s likely to come into play is building controls, Managan says. “There’s a potential for a lot of work in that area, to improve the efficiency of lighting with smart controls, as well as HVAC systems,” she says. “Upgrades and additions in that area will be a great way for many buildings to reach energy efficiency targets because half their value comes from how systems are operated. Optimizing controls is one of the cheapest energy savings strategies.”
A long list of specialty contractors stand to benefit from Denver’s push to decarbonize and electrify buildings, with HVAC contractors likely leading the pack. But the task force that helped craft the Denver ordinance came up some data compiled by Inclusive Economics showing that lighting/wiring work account for a quarter of all the labor required for energy efficiency upgrade work. Only HVAC work, at 27%, was estimated to account for more. Inclusive Economics also developed data showing electricians provide 10% of the work on building decarbonization/building retrofit work, behind general construction laborers and carpenters.
