SALT LAKE CITY– It’s official: Utah Clean Energy’s Climate Innovation Center has achieved two of the most rigorous standards for building performance in the country: the Zero Carbon Certification™ and Zero Energy Certification™ through the International Living Future Institute.

The certifications confirm through real-world operating data and independent validation that the downtown Salt Lake City facility is performing as one of the nation’s most high-performance, all-electric, energy-efficient, zero-emission buildings. Designed to operate without fossil fuels, the Climate Innovation Center is so energy efficient, its on-site solar produces more energy than the all-electric building consumes in a year.

“We built the Climate Innovation Center to be a model for high-performance, zero-emission building design. These new certifications move us from promise to proof. After a full year of measured performance, the building’s utility data and solar generation reports confirm that Utah Clean Energy is delivering on its ambitious goals to make the Climate Innovation Center a truly zero-emission building,” states Kevin Emerson, Director of Building Efficiency and Decarbonization at Utah Clean Energy.

Achieving the high-level rankings required a comprehensive approach to building performance, including energy modeling at the outset of design, all-electric design with no fossil fuels, an airtight and efficient building envelope, high-performance windows, efficient lighting and controls, energy-efficient appliances, variable refrigerant flow air-source heat pumps for heating and cooling, a hybrid heat pump water heater, and 38.7 kW on-site solar power paired with 30 kW of battery storage.

To earn the revered certifications, Utah Clean Energy was required to complete a minimum of 12 months of detailed energy tracking and third-party verification. The results exceeded expectations:

• The Climate Innovation Center is about 47% more energy efficient than a conventional office building of a similar size and function, resulting in reduced energy demands,
• the Center is saving about $11,400 per year on avoided utility bills. These annual savings will pay off the incremental costs for construction in only 12.2 years.
• During the first full year of data collection, the Center generated 8,906 kilowatt-hours more clean electricity than it consumed, sharing that excess solar energy back to the grid. That is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity use of a standard home.
• Notably, the space includes 3 electric vehicle charging stations that are in use by staff most days of the week. The on-site solar provides all of this charging in addition to the building energy needs.

“The Climate Innovation Center demonstrates what is possible when climate solutions are built into the places where we live, work, and gather,” said Emerson. “These certifications confirm that high-performance, zero-emission buildings are not theoretical; they are achievable today, right here in Utah.”

About the Certifications

Zero Energy Certification™ recognizes buildings that meet their annual energy needs with on-site renewable energy and operate without combustion. Together, the designations place the Climate Innovation Center among a select group of buildings around the world demonstrating both exceptional energy efficiency and zero-emissions performance. During the first year of performance, the Center avoided nearly 340 metric tons of CO2 emissions by using clean, solar energy.

The Climate Innovation Center goes beyond eliminating energy-related emissions. The additional Zero Carbon Certification™ validates our huge reduction in the “embodied” carbon emissions that result from the full lifecycle of construction materials, like steel, concrete, flooring, etc. used at the Center. Embodied emissions occur throughout the extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, and recycling/end-of-life of building materials. Using the Athena Impact Estimator, the team at Utah Clean Energy worked with two University of Utah Engineering student interns as well as GSBS Architects and Blalock and Partners to complete an embodied carbon analysis. This in-depth look shows a staggering 97% reduction in the embodied carbon for the Center.

A Teaching Tool for High-Performance Buildings

Located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, the Climate Innovation Center showcases what homes and buildings can be: comfortable, resilient, efficient spaces that run on clean energy and produce zero on-site pollution.

The Climate Innovation Center serves as Utah Clean Energy’s headquarters and as a community education hub for climate convenings, conversations, and action. Utah Clean Energy has documented the project’s building strategies so the building can serve as a teaching tool for communities, building owners, designers, and policymakers to achieve the same level of building performance. Everything about how the Climate Innovation Center was designed and built can be found at www.climateinnovationcenter.org

Quotes From Our Building Partners

“The Climate Innovation Center demonstrates that exceptional building performance is achievable through thoughtful, integrated design—not extraordinary complexity. From the outset, our goal was to create a building that proves sustainable design solutions are attainable for projects of every size and budget. Achieving verified Zero Energy and Zero Carbon Certifications, backed by measured performance data, shows that intelligent design decisions can dramatically reduce energy use and carbon emissions while creating healthy, inspiring places for people. We hope this project serves as a model that encourages others to embrace high-performance design as the new standard,” states Brian Backe, Principal at Blalock and Partners.

“Utah Clean Energy set out to build something the whole community could learn from, and helping bring that vision out of a 1950s shell is the kind of work we’re grateful to be trusted with,” states Jeremy Blanck, President of Okland Construction.

Key features of the Climate Innovation Center:

Going all in on all-electric

• Air source heat pump for heating and cooling
• Heat pump water heating
• Induction stove top
• Heat pump clothes dryer
• Electric vehicle charging
• ZERO need for fossil fuels

The highest energy performance standard

• Energy modeling and iterative design
• Airtight and well-insulated building envelope
• High-performance windows
• Energy efficient ENERGY STAR appliances
• Efficient lighting and controls
• Three-stage cooling with evaporative cooling, fresh air, and heat pump

Powered with 100% clean energy

• Rooftop solar plus solar canopy (38.7 kW)
• On-site battery storage (30 kw)
• Grid interactive operation

Minimizing water use inside & out

• Water-efficient fixtures and appliances
• Drought resistant and pollinator-friendly garden

Low emission choices from the ground up

• Retrofitting an existing building produced significantly less carbon than building new
• Mass timber was used in place of concrete and steel to reduce embodied carbon
• Features high recycled and reclaimed materials, including carpet tiles, countertops, ceramic tiles, and reclaimed wood flooring

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About Utah Clean Energy

Utah Clean Energy is a solution-based, non-partisan organization that has been successfully driving transformative change for a healthy climate for over 20 years.  They are recognized as Utah’s foremost experts on expanding renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage, and clean vehicles in a way that is beneficial not only for Utah’s environment and health, but our economy and long-term energy security. Utah Clean Energy is committed to creating a future that ensures healthy, thriving communities for all, empowered and sustained by clean energies. For more information visit www.utahcleanenergy.org.