April 28, 2021 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Eastern Time (ET)

Decarbonizing
Heat in Buildings

Event Description:

Much of the world’s energy use involves generation or manipulation of heat in buildings, including space heating and cooling as well as household appliances. Economy-wide deep decarbonization is impossible without deep decarbonization of heat in buildings. Is this possible without significant breakthroughs in thermal science and engineering? Please join us for a webinar on challenges and opportunities related to decarbonizing heat in buildings. Dr. Mathilde Fajardy will present recent research conducted at the University of Cambridge (UK) on decarbonization prospects for residential and commercial heating and cooling. MIT Professor Christoph Reinhart will provide us with an overview of his recent work on building retrofit opportunities as well as his thoughts on U.S. Federal Government stimulus for buildings.

Participants

Speaker:
Mathilde Fajardy
University of Cambridge

Mathilde Fajardy is a postdoctoral researcher with the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge. Her research is focused on modelling the decarbonisation of energy systems and the role of carbon dioxide removal methods.
Speaker
Christoph Reinhart
MIT

Christoph Reinhart is a building scientist and architectural educator working in the field of sustainable building design and environmental modeling. At MIT he is leading the Sustainable Design Lab (SDL), an inter-disciplinary group with a grounding in architecture that develops design workflows, planning tools and metrics to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings and neighborhoods. He is also the head of Solemma, a technology company and Harvard University spinoff as well as Strategic Development Advisor for mapdwell, a solar mapping company and MIT spinoff. Products originating from SDL and Solemma are used in practice and education in over 90 countries.
Moderator:
Joshua Hodge
MIT Joshua Hodge is Executive Director of the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), where he coordinates research activities and is responsible for the Center’s budget and manages Center staff. His areas of expertise include domestic and international climate and energy policy, with a focus on energy transition and renewable energy policies in the United States. Joshua’s recent work has included assisting rural electric cooperatives in the U.S. with decarbonization strategy. He is also a member of the MIT Net-Zero by 2026 Faculty Review Committee.