Net-zero house by Rolf Kielman
Last month, I had a heat pump installed in our Burlington home. The centrally ducted system helps address the climate crisis by replacing some natural-gas-fueled heat during the shoulder seasons with heat generated by electricity. Burlington's electricity comes from all-renewable sources — the wood-chip-fired McNeil Generating Station, hydro and wind — rather than fossil fuels. So the Burlington Electric Department, which also serves as the city's energy-efficiency utility, is incentivizing such carbon-reducing measures with rebates. Of our total bill, $6,900, BED rebated $4,500.
That made me feel good, of course. But, considering that the built environment accounts for 39 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, it's a drop in the bucket. A more comprehensive approach to reducing buildings' fossil fuel use and carbon emissions is urgently needed. And that's increasingly the focus of Vermont's architects.