User Guide

1. Enter the building name and geographical information, including the Country, City, State/Province, and Postal Code.
   • It is important to input the correct postal code in order for the Zero Tool to accurately develop a baseline and calculate carbon emissions.
2. Classify your building as New Construction or an Existing Building.

1. Classify your building as Commercial or Residential.
2. Select the Primary Building Use from the drop-down menu. A new box for building use details will appear below.
   • The primary building use is the building use associated with the highest overall percentage of the building, by floor area.
3. Specify any additional building uses by selecting, one-by-one, options under the Add Another Use drop-down menu.
   • If the building contains only one primary function, this step may be skipped.
   • The total area of all space uses should equal the total gross floor area of the building.
   • Support spaces (e.g. corridors, storage, etc.) do not need to be entered separately. Their square footage should be included within the associated space use (e.g. office corridors should be considered part of the overall office floor area).
   • In order to accurately benchmark your building, space uses that are significantly different in occupancy and/or use patterns must be entered separately.
4. Within each space use box, enter the Gross Floor Area and associated Units. For certain space types default values will appear, pre-entered into the input boxes. If more accurate values are available for your building, deselect the Use Default Values? box and modify the inputs as appropriate.

• Specify an energy reduction target by selecting either Percent Reduction or Zero Score, then entering a value.
  • Percent Reduction reflects a target relative to the baseline.
    • 2030 Challenge reduction targets for new construction and major renovations^* are:
      • 70% today
      • 80% in 2020
      • 90% in 2025
      • Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate)
    • 2030 Challenge reduction targets for existing buildings are:
      • 20% today
      • 35% in 2025
      • 50% in 2030
  • Zero Score reflects a target based on the Zero Scale, on which a score of 100 is the baseline and a score of 0 is a zero net carbon building. Values in between are scaled linearly.
  • All baselines are representative of a typical modern building, which is based on CBECS 2003/RECS 2001 data but normalized by climate, weather, space type, building size, occupancy, and schedule.
• Optional: check the box if you are using the Zero Tool to meet 2030 Challenge Targets.
  • Checking this box aligns residential property baselines with RECS 2001 data, which is roughly equivalent to a HERS 130 rating or a Zero Score of 130, and is the 2030 Challenge baseline for residential properties.

^*A Major Renovation is any renovation of a building where (a) the total cost of the renovation related to the building envelope or the technical building systems is higher than 25 % of the value of the building, excluding the value of the land upon which the building is situated, or (b) more than 25 % of the surface of the building envelope undergoes renovation.

Enter your total annual purchased energy (renewable and non-renewable) by selecting Energy Type and Units, then entering a value under Total Annual Energy Purchased.

• If more than one energy type is supplied to the building (e.g. electricity and natural gas), enter each value on a separate line. If more than two energy types are supplied to the building, click the add another entry button to add additional lines as needed.
• These inputs are optional. Provide this data if you want to compare your building’s current performance to its baseline and reduction target.
• Provide this data only if it is available from metered readings across a whole calendar year. If less than a year of data is available, leave these input boxes blank.

Enter your total annual on-site energy generation by selecting Energy Type and Units, then entering a value under Total Annual Energy Generated.

• If some of your on-site generated energy is sold back to the grid, enter the amount under Total Annual Energy Sold.

Click Calculate Baseline and Target › at the bottom of the page to calculate your baseline, target, and if applicable, Zero Score.

• The results will be displayed graphically on the Zero Scale, and numerically in the Building Summary table.
  • The Baseline column of the Building Summary table shows the baseline energy and emissions metrics for your building, based on CBECS 2003/RECS 2001 but normalized by climate, weather, space type, building size, occupancy, and schedule.
  • The Target column shows your building’s energy and emissions targets, based on the selected Percent Reduction or Zero Score target.
  • The Your Building column shows your building’s performance based on the energy consumption and energy generation inputs provided.
• If adjustments are make to building use details and/or consumption/generation data, re-click Calculate Baseline and Target › to update results.

For more information on the Zero Score and the Zero Scale see the About Page.

If a use type or country is not available in the Zero Tool or a non-Zero Tool baseline needs to be established, there are a number of strategies that can be used to establish an appropriate baseline:^*

1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory initiative Labs 21 has created an energy-benchmarking tool to determine the average energy consumption of laboratories and associated energy reduction targets.
2. IFC’s EDGE Software can be used in many international cities to determine an EUI baseline. Architecture 2030 has agreed to adopt EDGE baselines as the official international baselines for the 2030 Challenge and the 2030 Commitment. For more information on the methodology behind EDGE baselines, view this report.
3. The website degreedays.net can be used to calculate heating degree day and cooling degree day (HDD/CDD) data to input into the Zero Tool instead of a postal code. The total heating degree days and cooling degree days for one year, or the average annual total for multiple years, should be entered.
4. The American Institute of Architects has developed an International Location to U.S. Equivalent Zip Code table, from which cities around the world can be matched to a U.S. zip code in a comparable climate zone. Zero Tool users can substitute their project’s location data for U.S. equivalent data from this table. Architecture 2030 is also in the process of incorporating international baselines from IFC’s EDGE directly into the Zero Tool.
5. Local or regional energy consumption databases (e.g. from benchmarking and disclosure ordinance reporting) can be used to assess the performance of similar building types and estimate a baseline.
6. Firm portfolio data, or data from peer firms, can be used to assess the performance of similar building types and estimate a baseline.
7. If no appropriate data can be found, projects can target carbon neutrality, which makes establishing a baseline unnecessary.

^*Use best practices and professional judgment when estimating a baseline, and be sure to consider all factors that affect energy performance including climate, weather, space type, building size, occupancy, and schedule.