Rain rain go Away...

For this week I had thought about going to Fort Lauderdale and take pictures of some cool buildings or maybe pass by the design district and enjoy a day around art art art, and crazy furniture but MR. RAIN decided to ruin my day... : /

Oh well, at least I know now exactly where Im going to go to take pictures of buildings; my mentor sent me an e-mail telling me to research about “an Net- Zero Energy building in FL” and this is what I found :

TD Bank Constructing the First Net-Zero Energy Bank Location in the U.S.  !!!

The new net-zero energy TD Bank store will open this spring in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

A June 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory defined a net-zero energy building (NZEB) as a residential or commercial building that produces and exports in a year at least as much renewable power as the total energy it uses.

According to the report, an NZEB has two key energy features: The building is constructed with energy-efficient technologies that significantly reduce its energy demand, and renewable energy sources supply at least as much energy as the building uses over the course of a year.

The new store, which is connected to the local utility grid, will require approximately 97,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year to operate, but it will produce a minimum of 100,000 kWh a year on site.

The net-zero energy TD Bank store will also target the highest level of LEED certification, LEED Platinum. Only eight buildings in the nation are registered as NZEBs with the DOE, and TD Bank will be the first to register a net-zero energy bank. TD Bank has opened 17 stores and offices targeting LEED certification for their green design. LEED evaluates buildings for their overall environmental performance in five areas: sustainable sites, water use, energy efficiency, materials and resource use, and indoor environmental quality.

Buildings account for about 40 percent of total U.S. energy use and are responsible for about 50 percent of CO2 emissions. Those of us involved in the design, construction and operation of buildings have an opportunity and a responsibility to work toward maximum levels of energy efficiency, thereby, significantly reducing CO2 emissions.

NZEB Buildings

A NZEB is a building that, on an annual basis, produces as much energy as it uses. This means that at certain times of the year it may produce more energy than it need

SOUNDS PRETTY COOL AND GREEN... :)