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BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION & MOVING TOWARDS ENERGY DECARBONIZATION by Rick Alfandre, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
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uilding electrification refers to using electric technologies instead of combustion-fueled technologies to supply the comforts of a modern building. An electrified building typically uses electric heat pumps for space heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, as well as electric or induction stoves for cooking. Every major end use for fossil fuels in buildings is ready to be electrified with currently available technologies.
New Paltz Police Department and Court Offices. Completed in November 2021.
The New Paltz Police and Court Municipal building that was recently completed for the Town of New Paltz is fully electric, employing no fossil fuels in the design. Electrification supports the long-term goal of building decarbonization. That is because the electricity grid is getting PAGE 34 | DEC ‘21 | JAN ‘22
greener and cleaner. By designing and constructing buildings to harmonize with the grid we will reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pump technologies use energy in highly efficient ways and, therefore, save building owners money. Heat pumps — whether ground-source or air-source — are basically air conditioners that can be run in reverse to provide heating as well as cooling. Air conditioners (and refrigerators) make a space cooler by extracting heat from it and releasing the heat in a warmer place. The key to this magic is the refrigerant, a fluid that changes from a liquid to a gas at ambient temperatures. After absorbing heat, the gas moves through a mechanical compressor that squeezes the heat back out.
