OFFICES

Benefits of a Zero Energy Office Building >>

Design and Implementation Guidance

As zero energy office buildings become more common, their benefits are increasingly well-understood. Those benefits include:

  • Environmental stewardship. Building a zero energy office building shows a clear commitment to protecting natural resources and providing an inspiring workplace for employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
  • Improve occupant comfort and satisfaction. Zero energy buildings can provide benefits to occupants that go far beyond saving energy. Below are resources to learn more about occupant satisfaction:
    • Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics has summarized recent findings for productivity gains and healthy gains related to views, natural ventilation, and daylighting (Building & Decor, 2018).
    • The World Green Building Council’s Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in OfficesThe Next Chapter for Green Buildings guide discusses effective building design for visual and physical comfort to improve productivity (WGBC, 2014).
  • Prepare for the future with sound fiscal management. Zero energy offices are extremely energy-efficient, which reduces operating costs as well as exposure to future energy price volatility. The cost of designing and building a zero energy office can be comparable to that of a conventional office, making zero energy a sound business decision.