February 12, 2025

The Role of Engineers in Decarbonization 

By Chrissie Walsh

Between now and 2050, the world’s population is expected to increase by 1.9 billion, and 7 billion are expected to live in urban areas. To support this growth, the global building stock is expected to double by 2060, which means some version of New York City is being built somewhere around the world roughly every 34 days for the next 37 years. 

Decarbonization is one of the most critical challenges facing industries today, and engineers are at the forefront of this transition. Already well-versed in concepts of energy efficiency and system optimization, momentum in this next facet of an engineer’s work has grown in even just the past few years and will continue to do so within the near future. 

As the world grapples with the urgency of climate change, the role of engineers has become central in reducing carbon emissions across the scope of the building process.  
 

Designing for Tomorrow’s Energy Needs 

With decarbonization, there are shifts in the traditional build method. This includes not oversizing the system’s needs (as has been the norm in the industry) to reduce unnecessary equipment and subsequently not require additional electricity load for the building, as electrification will be a critical facet of decarbonization. 

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) estimates installed systems need to become 30% more efficient on average before even considering electrification, and radiant heating and cooling is an ideal solution to achieve that goal. 

Integrating a phased, holistic management approach to asset replacement and carefully planning to utilize existing infrastructure through useful lifetime is an important aspect of sustainable design. 

It is important to know that removing a boiler and installing a heat pump is not a one-to-one action; it will require focused attention to the entire functioning of the building, the conditions in which it exists, and the predicted environmental stressors resulting from changing climate that may shift today’s intended design. Engineers are considering aspects of resiliency as a part of these plans. 

Thinking in Systems

Integrated building, systems thinking, and collaboration is an essential part of the decarbonization effort. To change traditional building design, all stakeholders within the construction and lifetime maintenance will need to understand the goals and intentions of the equipment. Having as many at the table upfront can create alignment in planning and developing, creating more seamless transition points as the systems are intentionally installed. 

Skilled trade workers are a part of this, as their work is critical to an engineer downstream. Assuring commissioning of the building also allows for essential system knowledge for maintenance personnel at optimal service levels to help ensure high performance for the life of the building. Including those who will live, work, and exist within the structures provides opportunities to create awareness and promote the normalization of living with sustainable mindset.  
 

Leveraging Incentives and Enhancing the Standard ROI 

Building a business case for sustainability has always been a challenge, as the two-year ROI has been an unavoidable business hurdle. Engineers are getting more strategic about including benefits not typically considered in this equation to demonstrate the value of the transition. 

When comparing the investments to a business-as-usual scenario, avoided costs (maintenance, equipment replacement, etc.) and risks (energy prices, stranded assets, regulations, fines, etc.), as well as aspects of added value (incentives, resilience, occupant comfort, etc.) are changing the monetary conversation. 

It’s worth noting that decarbonizing to 100% may be cost-prohibitive to an alarming degree, but reducing emissions by 70-90% may be less than maintaining the existing system. Engineers are presenting this enhanced ROI as a comparison to the traditional case to demonstrate how investing towards decarbonization goals may actually reduce costs over the long term. 

Furthermore, to demonstrate the value of decarbonizing, incentives and rebates are now available to help reduce first costs of projects and greenlight activities. Legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) matters, as the incentive capitol is being used to model the benefits and reduced costs to private equity lenders. These case studies are proof points for private capital in demonstrating how costs will continue to go up if change is not embraced. 

Taking on Risk 

There is a lot of misconception and unsubstantiated claims around the science, cost, and necessity of building decarbonization. Engineers are seemingly on the front lines of taking on risks with designing differently, as often system faults or failures result in blame cast their way. Hence, there’s an increased push for skilled labor and a strong team that understands how the system intends to operate. To help mitigate risk, engineers are calling for building commissioning requirements, training in sequencing and controls, and education across all who install, maintain, and use the building systems. 

Building Datasets and Standardizing 

Enhanced, open access to actionable, useful, and insightful data will be a cornerstone of decarbonization. Real-time building performance, energy usage, emissions profiles, and system responses will help calibrate how a decarbonized system functions, as well as provide best practices for replication within the industry. Increased access to data will provide communication tools to all key stakeholders throughout the lifetime of the building. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a role in connectivity and open access of data from one source to another, drawing critical inferences across system boundaries. 

Engineers are also calling for increased standardization to provide repeatable and normalized methodology for the work of decarbonization. This includes how to calculate building emissions on a consistent basis, conduct applicable energy audits with integrated systems thinking, and accounting for both operational and embodied carbon emissions through the building’s lifetime. This call for transparency includes Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), as they are being utilized in calculating whole-life carbon and for sustainable building certifications. See ASHRAE’s standards list for examples of this ongoing work. 
 

Overall Sustainability Attributes of PEX Piping Solutions: 

• Overall, PEX pipe has industry-estimated 25% lower total greenhouse gas emissions and 3% lower climate change impact than metallics over the lifetime of the product. 

• There is an estimated 35% more incremental heat loss in metallics due to high thermal conductivity. Hence, using PEX equates to energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings within a structure. 

• The industry estimates 2.5 greater production-based greenhouse gas emissions in metallics compared to PEX. 

• Using PEX increases durability, longevity, and lifetime use while providing decreased maintenance costs over the life of the building. 

• PEX integrates with systems-based sustainable construction, including geothermal, heat pumps, and emerging technologies. 

• Lighter-weight PEX materials reduce body stress on workers, helping promote installer health. 

• Growing innovation with circular and recycled-content PEX solutions will continue to expand with advanced scaling and global mechanical recycling options.