In centuries past, some nations marked their place in history by deploying innovative technologies in feats of exploration—like circumnavigating the globe or sending astronauts into space. One modern challenge calls for innovating much closer to home: replacing polluting fossil fuel systems with clean energy technologies.
How rapidly can we do this? Part of the answer lies in clean energy building appliances—like state-of-the-art electric heat pumps and induction stoves—that are revolutionizing how Americans perform necessities such as cooking meals, sourcing hot water, and heating and cooling their homes. While making spaces healthier and safer, these highly efficient appliances are conserving energy and delivering households long-term savings on utility bills. Together with rapid expansion of renewable electricity, they are helping to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, fueling a surge of momentum behind a global building decarbonization movement.
The race to decarbonize buildings presents one of our toughest, yet most exciting, tests.
The U.S. is among the leaders in this race. A new report published by the Building Decarbonization Coalition charts our progress in eliminating pollution from buildings over the last four years. In 2019, Berkeley, Calif., became the first U.S. city to require all-electric new construction. Since then, change has unfurled at an astonishing pace. Last year, for the first time in U.S. history, more households used electricity for heating than gas. Thirty years ago, only 25% of homes used electric heating. Heat pumps are exploding in popularity, and for the first 11 months of 2022, heat-pump shipments outpaced those of gas furnaces. The U.S. now ranks second in the world in growth of heat-pump sales, trailing Europe but ahead of Japan and China. The global market value of induction stoves is projected to almost double in the next six years.
Because the world is building at a staggering clip, architects have a pivotal role to play. Across the globe, the square-foot equivalent of the entire city of New York is projected to be built every month, for the next 40 years. At the same time, grids and utilities are also evolving, integrating more and more renewables. Architects can accelerate the transition to clean energy by committing to designing buildings that don’t require fossil fuels.
Leadership from architects and other technical experts is also crucial because major appliance manufacturers, the building industry, and policymakers need assurance that transitioning buildings off fossil fuels is both doable and beneficial. Professionals with expertise and experience are the most trusted voices to deliver the facts and inform the decisions needed to move building decarbonization into its next phase.
Building electrification was a key part of the landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s $369 billion of climate and clean energy investments, which will help make tens of millions of U.S. homes all-electric. The government policies we need to implement next include building codes, regulatory reforms, training and education programs, and incentives geared to ensure that low- to moderate-income households are the first to switch to clean energy. Together, we can make 2023 the year the U.S. became the global leader in delivering healthier, pollution-free buildings for all.
Read more on building a greener world: Building on the Best of COP27. | Carbon intelligence for reuse decisions. | Architecture had a critical role at COP27. | Sustainable design strategies that work.