Addressing the Energy Water Nexus: Zero Net Carbon Design Series

The Zero Net Carbon Design (ZNCD) Series, will begin with the background and an overview of carbon in the building industry, then focus content on energy performance and renewable energy, water-savings as energy-savings, embodied carbon, and finally regenerative design.

The courses have been developed to fulfill the new California requirement for architects to have five hours of ZNCD education as part of their license renewal. Although created with architects in mind, the content is broadly applicable across the building industry.

There are 1.0 HSW|LUs available per class, we encourage you to register for the rest of the series for the full 5 hours of learning units.

Class 3: Addressing the Energy-Water Nexus

Reducing the use of water for buildings, especially hot water, has been shown to be more effective in reducing in energy use than many strategies that focus on lighting and HVAC. In this course, we’ll review the energy-water nexus and provide examples of water-use reduction through indoor fixture and equipment choices, landscape design and graywater systems.

Learning Objectives: 

• Be able to describe the energy-water nexus
• Quantify indoor and outdoor water use for different project types
• Identify and compare water saving strategies
• Build awareness of recycled water options