Connecting the Green Dots:
Capital Upgrades, Benchmarking & Training
The Supportive Housing Network of New York
Greening Supportive Housing: What’s Next?
By: Valerie Neng, Sustainability Manager, WHEDco
Date: June 9, 2011
WHEDco: Who We Are, What We Do
Green, Energy Efficient Homes
Family Support and Housing Services
Education and Youth Development
Small Food Business Incubator
Childcare Improvement Project
Head Start Early Childhood Discovery Center
Urban Horizons
Urban Horizons is WHEDco’s flagship building. It is a
historic building transformed from an abandoned
hospital to a thriving community hub.
WHEDco opened Urban Horizons in 1997. This housing
and economic development center includes:
• 132 energy-efficient and affordable apartments
• The Early Childhood Discovery Center, a Head Start
program for 104 kids
• Family Support social services
• A commercial kitchen and incubator for local food
businesses
• The Institute for Primary Health, a healthcare
center operated by a partner nonprofit
Urban Horizons
Why Build Green?
WHEDco’s decision to go green was driven by the following factors:
1. Financial sustainability
2. Community health concerns, especially in the South Bronx
3. Global climate change and the need for drastic greenhouse gas emissions
reductions
Financial Sustainability
Urban Horizons
Actual vs Underwritten Utility Expenses
2006-2010
$500,000
$468,693
$439,694
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$393,434
$326,237
$393,895
$342,548
$359,676
$427,195
$377,660
$396,543
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
2006
2007
2008
ACTUAL
UNDERWRITTEN
2009
2010
Community Health
Asthma emergency room
visit rates in the Bronx
were more than double
the NYS average in 20052007.
Average rates for NYC
overall were much higher
than NYS average.
New York State Asthma Surveillance
Summary Report - October 2007
Global
Climate
Changewe green the kitchen?
Why else
should
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP:
Global warming is an urgent concern. As building owners and operators, we
must do our part to reduce our CO2 emissions. Buildings contribute 75% of all
CO2 emissions in NYC.
Urban Horizons Retrofit Project
Installed Measures
Total initial investment of $71,785 with a simple payback of 2.2 years.
We did a before-and-after analysis that showed tenants’ electricity bills went down 6.1% after
the measures installed, while bills of other NYC residents went up 8.2%.
Investment Cost
Expected 1st Year Savings
Apartment lighting
$38,325
$9,865 *
Apartment refrigerators
$85,800
$9,150 *
Low flow showerheads and faucet aerators
$3,300
$4,396
LED exit signs
$9,775
$3,727
Bi-level stairwell lighting
$20,000
$1,803
Air sealing and weatherstripping
$2,500
$1,257
Efficiency motors and controls on heat
circulating pump
$33,400
$18,468
$2,810**
$3,496
Measures Installed to Date
Commercial area lighting upgrades
Urban Horizons Retrofit Project
Pending Measures
Initial Investment
1st Year Savings
Completion Date
1.6 gallons per flush toilets in all apartments
$49,000
$20,228
June 2011
Commercial area lighting upgrades
$27,774
$11,483
September 2011
Combined Heat and Power (cogenerator)
$187,500
$39,647
December 2011
87% efficiency boilers
$270,000
$28,737
December 2011
Upgrade ventilation system
$76,040
$25,748
December 2011
TOTAL
$610,314
$125,843
Total initial investment of $610,314
First year savings are projected at $125,843
Simple payback projected at less than 5 years
Retrofit Funding Sources
NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program (MPP)
NYSERDA Distributed Generation - CHP
Weatherization Assistance Program
Con Edison Gas Efficiency Program (GEPP)
Enterprise Green Communities
Borough President Capital
HPD Article 8A
Private foundation funding
What’s Next?
Benchmark and Measure Performance
Once the buildings are retrofitted, how do you verify the projected consumption and
cost savings? Benchmark and measure performance!
+ WHEDco is measuring actual performance of our buildings by collecting and
analyzing utility data. The benchmark for heating energy usage at Urban Horizons is
10 BTU/SF/HDD. This is better than most typical NYC multifamily buildings, but
there’s room for improvement. In comparison, Energy Star certified buildings range
from 3-6 BTU/SF/HDD.
+ Through a database called Wegowise (www.wegowise.com), we are automating
uploads of future utility data directly from the utility or Energy Services Company.
+ The database is still in development, but will eventually enable comparisons to
similar affordable housing (size, construction type, location, tenant make-up, fuel
type).
What’s Next?
Training & Education
+ According to environmental psychologist Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, human
behavior changes have the potential to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions
by 9%.
+ Training and education are an essential part of any energy/water reduction
effort, and makes energy/water visible.
+ Make energy saving easy and fun for your tenants or staff. Don’t be afraid to
use humor and competition to motivate behavior changes.
+ It’s not enough to give people information! Tips given at trainings must be
practical, simple, and relevant to the population.
Commercial Kitchen Energy/Water Training
Set
Goals
and Incentives
Next
Steps
Set energy reduction goal
Can we aim to reduce gas and electric use in the kitchen by 5-10%
next month by using the tips we just discussed?
Reward for meeting goal
Using April’s utility bills as a baseline, if the entire kitchen utility costs
are at least 5% less, we will give you a Green Discount off July’s rent!
Review and sign pledge
If you would like to participate in the Green Discount program, please
review and sign the Energy and Water Savings Pledge.
Sign the Energy and Water Reduction Pledge
Thank you!
Valerie Neng, Sustainability Manager
Phone: 917.346.9409
Email:
vneng@whedco.org