Studies of Net-Zero Building Practices - Assignment Example

Largely, the District’s official perceives the report as essential in the sense that it would greatly enable them to achieve their policy goals based on the study’s presented framework; thus, attain the slashing the rate of energy used by the District to half of its 2010 consumption in 2032. Subsequently, the study’s report is targeted at enabling the District to obtain data that it can use to back up its green technology projects, starting with the reduction of energy use.

According to Bill Updike, who is a specialist in green building in the District Department of the Environment, the District’s history of the uptake of progressive policies in green building has been outstanding and with the new report, the District’s efforts will be aided further in the advancement of the building industry to curtail more invigorating and irrepressible structures. This takes into consideration the key findings of the study which are described herein.

First, the District can be able to make energy consumption savings in new developments it has by about 60% based on the added initial cost of construction by about 1 to 3 percent. Second, there is an increase in the percentage of energy efficiency return on investment from about 6% to 12%. This figure may be deemed to rise further to between 33% - 36% should the net-zero energy be modeled through the use of solar power. Third, the study suggests the adoption of advanced measures in the conservation of water to reduce the consumption of the same and the amount that is lost in stormwater runoffs from buildings in the District by about 1% to 3%. Subsequently, the study seeks at enhancing a return on investment rate by 5% to 10% through further conservation of water usage by about 40% to 60%.

Finally, the report provides means by which the District may become more resilient particularly regarding the retention measures of stormwater as included in the costs mentioned above. In this context, it is expected that these interventions shall be applied in the elimination of stormwater runoff after stormy events; thus, allowing the retaining of water by the buildings during catastrophic storms. Additionally, the new report has sought to identify various practices that when acted upon shall be able to move the district to higher sustainable levels.