Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP)

Buildings & Energy While many people think of greenhouse gas emissions, they picture cars and trucks; however, commercial, residential, and industrial buildings are some of the largest energy users—and thus responsible for a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions. Ashland’s built environment accounts for more than one-quarter (27%) of the city’s total emissions, more than all types of transportation combined. This represents a significant opportunity to reduce emissions and help Ashland meet its reduction targets. On the plus side, because building emissions are primarily due to energy used for electricity, heating, and cooling, energy efficiency measures can dramatically reduce building emissions. Installing efficient lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, windows and insulation, and other upgrades can significantly reduce the amount of energy a building requires. Because most buildings’ energy use in Ashland is predominantly in the form of electricity, changes in the fuel mix used to generate electricity—for example, by replacing a coal-fired power plant with wind turbines— reduce the GHG emissions footprints of all buildings that draw electricity from the grid. These factors, among others, contributed to a reduction of 21% in overall emissions from Ashland’s built environment from 2011 to 2015. The impact of energy efficiency improvements was especially pronounced among residential homes, which saw a 9% decrease in electricity demand over the same period. Climate change will have complicated effects on Ashland’s built environment. On one hand, warmer winters will mean buildings require less energy to heat, which will cause natural gas use to decline. The number of heating degree days—a measure of the number of degrees that a day’s average temperature is below 65°F, commonly used to describe heating energy demand in buildings—decreased by 20% between 2011 and 2015, contributing to a 13% drop in natural gas use. Conversely, reduced snowpack due to climate change may affect regional hydropower capacity, and increased temperatures will increase energy demand for cooling during the dry summer months. The projected increase in wildfire frequency and severity may also put transmission lines at risk, making electricity less reliable in the region. 50 ASHLAND CLIMATE & ENERGY ACTION PLANBUILDINGS & ENERGY50