Adapting the indoor environment and implementing alternative methods of efficiency were the center of discussion at Danfoss’s 19th EnVisioneering Symposium, titled, “Building and Energy Infrastructure,” held in June in Washington, D.C. The roundtable discussion joined HVAC OEMs, consultants, and contractors with advocacy and utility groups, and authorities in research and policy to examine the opportunity of investment in next-generation energy infrastructure for commercial buildings.
“We’re in the midst of crossing to a whole-systems way of thinking in our buildings,” said Robert Wilkins, vice president, public affairs, Danfoss. “There is hope that low-cost natural gas is creating a new industrial revolution, putting us on a trajectory of energy independence.”
In 2010, the U.S. consumed 97.8 quads of energy, accounting for 19 percent of total global consumption, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Buildings Energy Data Book. In that year, the building sector accounted for about 41 percent of primary energy consumption, 44 percent more than the transportation sector and 36 percent more than the industrial sector.