Buildings are responsible for significant climate-changing pollution. Emissions from the construction sector have leapt 66% in a decade. The built environment is culpable for approximately 20% of our country’s carbon footprint. And constructing and renovating New Zealand buildings pumps out climate-changing pollution equivalent to the emissions from one million cars on the road every year. Climate change is our greatest challenge. But New Zealand will not achieve the healthier zero carbon future we deserve unless, together, we curtail emissions from the building and construction sector.
That’s why the NZGBC (New Zealand’s Green Building Council) has identified the significant milestones that the government and industry must achieve to decarbonise New Zealand’s buildings. These include an improved Building Code, significantly increased transparency around the energy-efficiency of buildings, and a call for key government ministries and departments to lead a revolutionary shift in green build.
As a starting point the NZGBC propose that zero energy buildings are broadly those with very low levels of heating and cooling demand, and high-performance heating, hot water and lighting systems. The term zero energy is used here for simplicity, technically this would mean the lowest energy use that is practicable based on the lowest life-cycle cost.
Around a third of the operational carbon emissions from New Zealand’s buildings come from fossil fuels used for space and hot water heating. The majority of these emissions come from natural gas and LPG, both of which have seen steady rises in consumption in recent years. Apricus NZ Eco Energy is focused on helping you to choose & design sustainable hot water systems to meet your specific needs, helping you to meet the carbon zero goals that New Zealand’s Green Building Council sets out in: A Zero Carbon Road Map for Aotearoa’s Buildings