Hotel Milano Scala has recently installed a new Mitsubishi Electric filtration system. Fresh air entering the interior spaces is treated in four air handling units — three rated at 5,000 m³/h plus one at 10,000 m³/h for a total air treatment capacity of 25,000 m³/h — composed of a class G4 pre-filter and a class F9 final filter (the same ones used in hospitals to prevent contamination).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reached a significant milestone in bringing the building community together by releasing a common definition of a zero energy building, or what is also referred to as a “net zero energy” or “zero net energy” building.

While the concept of ZEBs is generally accepted in the building industry, no common definition exists. This creates a challenge in trying to incentivize such buildings and in developing common design strategies.

While advances in energy efficient buildings are reducing the energy consumption of many new and existing structures, the spread of zero energy buildings, which generate as much energy over the course of a year as they use, is a primary indicator of aggressive approaches to mitigating the impacts of climate change in the built environment.

Aiming to reduce energy costs and minimize the carbon footprint of their buildings, governments, corporations, and home builders are pursuing zero energy building (ZEB) solutions, notes Navigant Research. Worldwide revenue from ZEBs is forecast to grow from $629 million annually in 2014 to more than $1.4 trillion in 2035.

The campus of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) played host to 28 teams of university students and building industry experts who converged at the lab for the Challenge Home Student Design Competition.

Many schools are turning to highly efficient HVAC solutions for both new-build and retrofit projects, indicating that the once-novel concept of LEED-certified and zero-energy schools may soon become commonplace in school districts across the U.S.