There is a LOT of misinformation out there regarding residential heating systems, particularly when it comes to comparisons of natural gas and oil. Much of the pro-oil data is propagated by industry groups representing the oil dealers.∗ That is not to say that natural gas systems are better – they have their marketers, too – only that this is a subject that requires a little extra effort to counter the spin.More…
July 18, 2023 — 0
Why a $90 million push could help U.S. buildings withstand climate disasters
The Energy Department will distribute the grants to 27 projects in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will announce the funding on Wednesday during a visit to Louisiana, where Hurricane Katrina in 2005 destroyed or damaged more than 800,000 homes and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage overall.
More…July 18, 2023 — 0
How can building owners, construction contractors better see advantages to energy efficiency renovations?
Buildings currently account for more than one third of energy-related EU greenhouse gas emissions. Renovations to improve their energy performance can contribute significantly to achieving the EU’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050 according to the EEA briefing ‘Accelerating the energy efficiency renovation of residential buildings — a behavioural approach’. To achieve this, the energy renovation rate needs to at least double from its current level. This will demand considerable investment.
More…July 18, 2023 — 0
Six Ways Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Measures Increase Property Value
Implementing energy efficient measures can lead to significant cost savings in the long term. For example, retrofitting properties to be more energy efficient can reduce utility costs, and lowering operational costs increases Net Operating Income (NOI) for a higher property value.
More…July 18, 2023 — 0
DOE Announces $90 Million To Support Resilient and Efficient Building Energy Codes
As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $90 million in competitive awards to help states, cities, tribes, and partnering organizations implement updated energy codes for buildings. Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these awards will support 27 projects across 26 states and the District of Columbia to ensure buildings meet the latest standards for energy efficiency — reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy bills for American families and businesses.
More…March 1, 2021 — 0
Cities voted for green building codes. Now developers want to end voting.
A 280-unit apartment building under construction in Minneapolis in 2017. Nearly three-quarters of Minneapolis’ emissions came from buildings. This story was originally published by HuffPost and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Kim Havey had a problem. Minneapolis was generating more and more of its […]
March 1, 2021 — 0
This Isn’t HGTV
The City’s Home Rehab and Energy Efficiency program is here to help homeowners make needed repairs.
The City of Columbia’s Housing Programs Division strives to ameliorate Columbia’s shortage of affordable housing through a variety of programs, including its Home Rehab and Energy Efficiency Program. The program is designed to bring existing homes up to code, making them more livable and efficient, thereby strengthening neighborhoods.
It’s Not a TV Home Makeover Show
The program is focused on encouraging repairs that are manageable and practical, using federal HUD funding and Community Development Block Grants to offer homeowners a zero-interest loan of up to $50,000 to complete eligible repairs. Those include roof repair or replacement, HVAC repair or replacement, plumbing and electrical upgrades, accessibility modifications such as wheelchair ramps, and energy improvements like attic insulation and window or door replacement. The program began in the early 1980s, and despite the pandemic, the program stayed busy in 2020, facilitating the rehab of six homes.
“We serve low- to moderate-income homeowners that are at less than 80% of the area median income,” says Randall Cole, the housing programs manager who oversees the program. “We serve a lot of elderly and people with disabilities, but also a lot of the general public fits into that category, so we serve a broad cross-section of households in our community.”
Eligible homeowners can apply for the program through the City’s community development website, though so many applications have been received that the city is not accepting more until this fall. If the application is approved, the homeowner can choose a contractor from a pre-approved list to work on the project.
“We really put the homeowner in the driver’s seat. We work with them to draw up what they want to do with the home [repairs], what’s eligible,” Randall says. “One important note is that this isn’t like a TV home-makeover show — it’s really to rehab those specific systems that need help. We don’t typically do cosmetic upgrades unless it’s a part of replacing siding or something like that.”
Landscaping, fencing, and additions are not eligible for the program. Addtionally, loans are not provided to homeowners who intend to sell their property once the repairs are complete; in other words, the program is not intended for home flippers.
[…]
March 1, 2021 — 0
Transforming nursing homes into healthy living spaces
With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing the urgent need of nursing homes to do all they can to limit the spread of communicable illnesses, leadership and staff priorities lie in protecting resident health and delivering the best quality of care possible.
While they must continue to navigate day-to-day challenges — keeping areas clean to reduce the spread of the virus, monitoring resident health and wellness and operating through staff and PPE shortages — nursing homes should also look into the benefits their buildings themselves can deliver. There are critical considerations in a facility’s infrastructure that can help improve resident and staff comfort while meeting environmental goals and creating a healthier environment.
The performance of equipment and systems can paint a clear picture of a facility’s ability to reduce virus spread, reduce energy and utility costs and provide insight into the steps necessary to deliver the most value. While healthy buildings have always been essential, the pandemic has heightened the need to upgrade facilities so they’re more resilient in the long term and prepared for future crises.
[…]
March 1, 2021 — 0
PNNL Energy Sciences Center Will Help Realize Clean Energy Future
A new research facility on the Richland campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is set to open fall 2021. The Energy Sciences Center (ESC) will feature many of PNNL’s strengths in chemistry, materials sciences, and computing in one building.
“The ESC will accelerate innovation in energy research using chemistry, materials science, and quantum information sciences supporting the nation’s climate and clean energy research agenda,” said Lou Terminello, associate laboratory director of the Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate. “This will be one of the most advanced facilities in the world designed for this type of research and will be a tremendous asset for the nation. The research that it will enable is going to play an important part in decarbonizing the energy system.” […]
March 1, 2021 — 0
Eco-Friendly Strategies for Property Managers
Start light
- Caulk and insulate exterior windows and doors. This will not only help with heating and cooling costs but will also substantially reduce sound transfer between spaces.
- Refresh interiors with eco-friendly paints with low or no VOC emissions. Indoor air quality has become a hot topic since the onset of the pandemic and will continue to be a top amenity even after it ends.
- Ditch the incandescent bulbs and switch to energy-efficient lightings, such as LED and CFL lamps.
- Install energy-efficiency appliances and HVAC. Investing in the right refrigerators, dishwashers, ceiling fans and the rest will reduce energy consumption and lower the utility bills. More importantly, these will create the energy-efficient home eco-conscious renters seek.
- Install smart meters. These tech bits help the tenants pay for exactly what they consume, every month. Nobody likes estimated billing these days.
- Beef up recycling programs. In addition to the common separation of plastic, glass, paper and aluminum items, you can also easily prepare an area where residents can dispose of light bulbs, batteries and electronics.
Build it up
- Invest in smart-home technology. Residents love smart thermostats, which are steadily becoming the standard home product for new developments. These high-tech gadgets can be programmed (and some can learn by themselves) to adjust heating and cooling processes in accordance with the time of day, times when no one is at home or while the residents are on vacation.
- Water preservation. In addition to installing low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets, consider adding a stormwater retention tank and use the water it collects for irrigation or to flush the toilets.
- Landscaping. Plan your planting to take advantage of its natural characteristics. For example, plant water-loving willows in low areas and conifers on higher ground. Or try xeriscaping, a landscaping technique that uses native plants and rock to minimize water use.
- Mind your roof. The rooftops of your buildings will greatly impact the overall energy efficiency of the community. In warmer climates, for example, opt for roofing products that reflect the sun’s energy away from the roof—such as slate, terracotta and white tiles—cool faster at night and hold heat for less time to reduce energy costs and usage related to heat.
- Upgrade to a green roof. Even though living roofs are used more frequently in commercial developments, they are becoming increasingly popular in multifamily communities. Residents will enjoy looking at the plants living atop their apartments, which will also insulate the property and filter rainwater, preventing it from running directly into the storm sewer system.
- Install a photovoltaic solar array and a complimentary battery storage unit.
If your community has all or most of these sustainable features, you can consider enrolling to have it certified for its green achievements. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED award is one of the most popular certifications out there and owning such a designation will make a strong sustainability statement. Besides, it will help you retain and attract residents while increasing the property’s value in the long term.
March 1, 2021 — 0
3-Year Partnership With Ameresco Saved Town of Ashland $800,000+
ASHLAND – The Town of Ashland formed a partnership with Framingham-based energy efficiency company Ameresco to lower energy use and costs in the community. Goals were to improve the energy sources to make the Town of Ashland greener and have a smaller carbon footprint.
Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert said the “Energy Savings Performance Contract helped us make much-needed energy efficiency investments in our facilities, at little to no cost to the Town of Ashland.”
“In three years alone, we have saved over $800,000 through this project, which is significant for a town our size,” said Herbert, who is a Framingham resident.
“The savings we have realized through this program has allowed us to redeploy our resources into other important components of our operation as well as community development initiatives. It also helps us reach our sustainability goals,” said Town Manager Herbert.
This Energy Performance Contract and Annual Reconciliation Report for year three with Ameresco, “is one of the many steps we are taking to fight climate change and reduce our carbon footprint – this is a successful example of that,” added Scherer.
March 1, 2021 — 0
Missoula County inks contract for energy audit in pursuit of carbon neutrality
With a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, Missoula County is moving to complete an energy audit of its two largest facilities, and it approved a $75,000 contract with a national consultant to complete the work.
The agreement with McKinstry Essention LLC will include a review of the county detention center and courthouse, and offer recommendations for both savings and improvements.
“The largest contributor to the county’s greenhouse gas emissions is our buildings and facilities,” said Diana Maneta, the county’s conservation and energy coordinator. “To achieve that goal is most certainly going to require using energy more efficiently in those buildings and facilities.”
Both the city and the county of Missoula signed a resolution stating their intent to achieve carbon neutrality in government operations by a certain year. The also completed an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, which was needed to set a baseline measure as they work to reduce their emissions.
The county’s study found that its operations emitted more than 7,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2016. Reducing that to zero will take time and investment.
“The first step is an investment grade audit, meaning an in-depth energy audit of the buildings to identify the measures to be potentially included in a performance contract, as well as the savings that would go along with those costs,” said Maneta.
An energy performance contract represents what Maneta described as “a tool in the toolbox,” one authorized by the state. It enables local governments to enter into a contract with an energy services company, like McKinstry, to make efficiency improvements.
The tool also allows local government to pay back the cost of those improvements over time through the savings on their utility bill. Those saving are guaranteed by the energy services company.
“This is such a great thing from an energy efficiency standpoint, but also from a fiscal responsibility standpoint,” said Commissioner Josh Slotnick. “The cost of the improvements we’re making are made up through the savings they generate, and they’re guaranteed. It’s such a good deal for us. It really moves us forward toward meeting our goals.”
After completing the energy audit, McKinstry will provide the county with an energy performance contract, which would include a list of recommended steps the county could take to save energy and cut emissions.
If the county decides to proceed with the performance contract, the cost of the $75,000 energy audit would be rolled into the contract and financed. If the county decides not to proceed, it would pay McKinstry the full cost of the audit in one lump sum.
“At that time, we can do a financial analysis and see if it’s cheaper for us to borrow on a tax-exempt basis and then roll the energy grade audit into our own financing, or we have the alternative of letting (McKinstry) finance it and pay for it through the guaranteed savings,” said Andrew Czorny, the county’s chief financial officer.
The energy audit marks the latest step taken by the county to pursue its goals of carbon neutrality.
With parallel goals of addressing the climate crisis and reducing carbon emissions, the city and county of Missoula, along with the cities of Bozeman and Helena, formally adopted a joint agreement last month to work with NorthWestern Energy on developing a green tariff.
Together they contracted Energy Strategies in Salt Lake City to aid in the process.
“Government oftentimes gets criticized for doing a lot of planing and not as much implementation,” said Commissioner Dave Strohmaier. “This (energy audit) is a step toward actually implementing some tangible work on the ground that will further our energy conservation and sustainability goals.”
May 12, 2020 — 0
Maine environmental regulators issue transmission line permit
TRANSMISSION: Maine environmental regulators grant a permit for a transmission line to import Canadian hydropower, making it the third and final state agency to approve the project. (Bangor Daily News)
May 12, 2020 — 0
Coronavirus: Fuel costs hitting poorest families hardest, warn energy experts
Lockdown fuel costs are hitting low income families the hardest according to energy experts. While people are forced to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, gas and electricity consumption is increasing, causing bills to rise. And this is costing disadvantaged families the […]
May 12, 2020 — 0
With most office buildings empty, now is a great time to reexamine energy efficiency
Despite being mostly empty, commercial real estate energy bills are mostly unchanged.
Commercial buildings in the United Kingdom have reduced energy consumption only by 16 percent on average during the pandemic, according to analysis from Carbon Intelligence. The worst-performing buildings are only achieving a 3 percent reduction, according to the analysis. Anecdotal evidence suggests similar numbers in the United States.
What a waste of time and money.
With occupancy so low and energy bills so high, there may never have been a more persuasive argument — or a better opportunity — to optimize buildings. You’d think.
The (missed) opportunity for capital upgrades
With buildings empty, service providers hungry for work and capital cheap, it seems a great time to bring buildings into the 21st century.
But as we’re still grasping the extent of the economic fallout, commercial real estate owners are cautious.
“The financial smoke will have to clear before many people will put project capital at risk there,” explained Steve Gossett Jr., operating partner at Generate Capital, via email. “Most landlords are likely to husband cash rather than invest in their assets right now because they aren’t sure how functional the capital markets will be for real estate in the near future or how stable their tenants are.”
In the short term, landlords are worried struggling companies will renegotiate leases or shift to a work-from-home model, requiring less office space writ large. The result: Commercial office spaces could become stranded assets, subject to write-downs and operating losses.
“In the past, before COVID, we’d say, ‘Oh, if you do these improvements you can increase your rental rates and you can have higher-quality tenants,’” said Marta Schantz, senior vice president of the Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint, an alliance of real estate owners and investors. “But now that case sounds tone-deaf to the market. If folks are worried about people even being able to pay their rent, they’re less focused on increasing rental rates and more on just getting rent.”
To say the least, this is a missed opportunity. About half of all buildings were built before 1980, and many are old, dumb and wasteful. The U.S. building stock accounts for about 40 percent of the emissions. And the technology exists to change that; buildings could be optimized and transformed to be a resource for the electric grid. Buildings could be cheaper to run, provide healthier spaces and become more resilient.
What building owners can do now: tighten operations
As occupancy drops close to zero, some building operators have been surprised at how little change there has been in their energy consumption.
“In general, some clients probably have been surprised to find that parasitic loads were higher than expected,” said Kyle Goehring, executive vice president of clean energy solutions at JLL, in an email.
Simply reviewing systems and buildings presets can save energy and money, according to Schantz.
For example, facility managers could reduce the run time of HVAC systems (responsible for about 40 percent of energy consumption), turn off lights in unoccupied spaces (lighting is responsible for 20 percent of energy use) or unplug appliances that aren’t needed (which account for about 33 percent of buildings’ energy use). For more specific ideas, check out Schantz’s blog or GreenBiz’s coverage.
These ideas, which are of course important, sound like no-brainers. As the world is turned upside down, I’m craving a cataclysmic change, not energy efficiency 101.
But according to Schantz, the basics are revolutionary when facility managers never had time to examine operations in the before-time.
“I very much hope that as folks go through their buildings they will also find some red flags that they didn’t know existed,” she said. “Being able to have this time to find these deeper problems and being able to address them will have long-term savings, even when the building becomes occupied again.” […]
May 12, 2020 — 0
City of St. Louis Becomes the First in the Midwest to Pass a Building Energy Performance Standard
ST LOUIS, MO – MayorLydaKrewson has signed an ambitious bill that would require buildings in the City of St. Louis to meet energy efficiency standards and establishes resources to help building owners achieve the savings that come with decreased energy usage.
Buildings account for about 80% of St. Louis’s GHG emissions, so increasing energy efficiency is crucial to reaching the city’s goal of 100% GHG reductions by 2050. As in other cities, the St. Louis BPS creates a legal requirement for building owners to ensure their buildings meet a minimum level of energy performance (the standard) within a series of multi-year compliance cycles. The policy will use Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) as its chief performance metric.The St. Louis BPS covers buildings 50,000 square feet or larger, which have been required to report the energy and water use of their properties since 2017 under the city’s Building Energy Awareness Ordinance. The BPS will now go beyond reporting to require energy-saving action. […]
March 21, 2019 — 0
Old Homes: Maximizing Energy Efficiency & Sustainability in Older Houses
Credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/smilla4/ In advance of the Old House Trade Show, we discuss how owners of older homes across the state can be more sustainable by using less energy, fewer materials, and smart design—helping both the environment and the value of their homes. Guests: Hillary Bassett , executive director, Greater […]
March 21, 2019 — 0
Key Democrat Paul Tonko unveils ‘doable’ climate change plan to attract Republicans
Democrat Paul Tonko of New York released a framework for combating climate change on Thursday that is meant to attract GOP support. “There is reason to hope we can come together in a bipartisan, bicameral way on climate change. I am sensing it,” said Tonko, the chairman of the […]
November 20, 2018 — 0
Top US Cities Considered the Most Energy Efficient, by Sandra Wood
Many people recognize the need for increased efforts to reduce energy consumption and make communities cleaner. As cities strive to reduce pollution and conserve energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has recognized the ones making the largest strides in this area. Based on their scores on the […]
April 13, 2018 — 0
[From City Metric] A fifth of private tenants suffer from fuel poverty. So why are energy efficiency standards so soft on landlords?
A fifth of private tenants suffer from fuel poverty. So why are energy efficiency standards so soft on landlords?
There is a trend in the UK for more and more people to rent their homes, many from private landlords. Too often, these are cold, energy inefficient homes: over 280,000 homes in cities across the UK that do not meet minimum energy efficient standards. […]
April 11, 2018 — 0
[From Crain’s New York] As DC retreats, NY goes all-in on energy efficiency
With billions of dollars in metro-area economic potential, energy efficiency is an increasingly lucrative field with real long-term benefits to public health and the environment. In the absence of national leadership on building the efficiency industry and reducing […]