BENCHMARKING AND DISCLOSURE: AN AVENUE TO ENERGY DEMAND TRANSPARENCY
London Terrace in New York is one of the cities largest mixed-use residential buildings. It encompasses an entire city block and has over 1,700 apartment units; Lucarelli 2012
ENERGY BENCHMARKING AND DISCLOSURE Compulsory (?) energy disclosure
Identifies buildings in need of retrofits Large multi-family/commercial properties Buildings assessed annually Indirectly can lead to fewer GHG emission Can this work in Richmond?
BUILDING ENERGY ASSESSMENT Best Practices Austin, Texas
Support (win) Marketing tool
Opposition (overcame)
Law?
CASE STUDIES: WASHINGTON D.C. History:
Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008
Requirements: Beginning April 2013:
Compulsory Program
Commercial / Multi-Family: 50,000 Sq. Ft. >
Government Buildings: 10,000 Sq. Ft >
Energy totals (electric/gas and water) for 2010-2012
$100/day penalty for late submissions
Data Software: Energy Star Information kept as public record; Provided annually
Cost: Software is FREE!
75% of GHG emitted from buildings in our Nations Capital!
National Mall; Lucarelli 2010
CASE STUDIES: NEW YORK CITY History:
Local Law 84 (LL84) of 2009: Requirements:
Beginning May 2011: Compulsory program All city-owned buildings larger than
10,000 sq. ft. Private buildings larger than 50,000 sq.
ft. Clustered buildings larger than 100,000
sq. ft. Data software: Energy Star
Information kept as public record; Provided
annually Cost: Software is FREE!
Light Pollution in Times Square, New York; Lucarelli 2010
CASE STUDIES: AUSTIN, TEXAS History
Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure ordinance of 2011 Requirements Compulsory Multi-family properties with five or
more units Receives electricity from Austin Energy Building Types
Commercial and Residential Data Software: Energy Star Statements kept as public record; Provided
annually Estimated ≈$200 - $300 | Single-family
residence[≤1,800 Sq. Ft.] | Single A/C system
6th Street in Austin, Texas; Wikipedia via Moore
ENERGY TRANSPARENCY Does energy transparency influence renter decisions? •Yes and no
•Preliminary research shows that benchmarking and disclosure programs have a greater impact on property owner behavior, rather than a renter’s decision to lease an apartment. •Property interviews also indicated owners have a greater incentive than renters to retrofit on the large scale (i.e. new windows, upgrade insulation, LED lighting, green roofs, HVAC upgrades, etc.) •Renters more likely to invest in small scale improvements like CFL’s
Methodology Three Case Studies Austin, TX Washington, D.C. New York City
Four Property Interviews Open and Closed Ended
Questions
Housing Data from RREA
INTERVIEWS WITH MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTY OWNERS Conclusions: Majority of multi-family units are
individually metered Average Age of Building: 48 years Preferred voluntary program (Less government) Few complaints about energy bills Many owners recognize the benefits of energy retrofits Renters less concerned with energy bills
RICHMOND HOUSING STOCK MF Units by Building Size 12000 11000 10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
# Multifamily Properties LIHTC Properties
2 units 3 units 4 units
5-24 units
25-49 units
50-99 100-199 200-299 300-499 >500 units units units units units
Total Building Count: 4542 Total Dwelling Units: 48,830 TOTAL LIHTC BUILDINGS: 96 TOTAL LIHTC UNITS: 5261
RICHMOND HOUSING STOCK (CONT.)
Distribution of Housing Stock by Unit Count
Distribution of Housing Stock by Age
ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND GHGs Inventory of Richmond Multi-Family housing Methodology
Analysis of potential energy and GHG savings Retrofit Scenarios Recommendations
CALCULATING PER UNIT ENERGY USE The methodology for determining baseline multifamily housing per unit
average annual energy consumption was adapted from Pitt (2012)
Data was gathered from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA)
2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS)
RECS Data measures per unit averages for Heating, Cooling, Water, Fridge,
and other Appliances /Lighting.
Micro-data for MF housing from South Atlantic Region adjusted to account
for Richmond climate conditions (heating and cooling degree days)
Pitt, D., 2012. Evaluating the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of compact housing development. Journal of environmental planning and management.
http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2009/
PER UNIT ENERGY AVERAGES (CONT.)
PER UNIT ENERGY AVERAGES (CONT.) Baseline Energy Consumption Totals by Age 2,500,000
Million BTU
2,000,000
1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000
0 1800s - 1940 Units in 2-4 Unit Buildings
1941 - 1980
1981 - present
Units in 5+ Unit Buildings
CALCULATING GHG EMISSIONS FROM ENERGY CONSUMPTION Methodology was adapted from Pitt (2012) According to most recent census, Richmond MF Housing is comprised
of nearly 70% Gas and 30% Electric as main heating source. Greenhouse Gas coefficients for Natural Gas and Electricity were used
to convert from energy use (million Btu) to GHG emissions (Metric Tonnes of CO2 equivalent)
POTENTIAL ENERGY AND GHG SAVINGS GHG's by Unit Age (Year Built) 12% 8%
80% 1800s - 1940
1941 - 1980
1981 - 2013
RETROFIT ASSUMPTIONS The following retrofit scenarios are generalizable and
assume that retrofits are evenly distributed across all building unit types as well as all heat source types (70% Nat. gas and 30% electric) Three scenarios: retrofits to 10%; 30%; 50% of MF housing
Scenarios can be customized to apply to certain building
types, age, and heat type to yield more specific results.
RETROFIT SCENARIOS Energy Consumption Totals by All Age and Unit Types 3,000,000
Million BTU
2,500,000
2% savings
4% savings
6% savings
S-1 10%
S-2 30%
S-3 50%
2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000
500,000 0 Baseline
Energy Consumption
Like putting a 4 KW solar PV system on 8,258 houses in RVA
Recommendations Voluntary benchmarking and disclosure Use Energy Star Portfolio Manager
Develop certification system Energy Star certification? Independent RREA certification?
Target pre-1980 buildings with electric heat Still need tax credits or grants / rebates or
financing program to cover up-front costs
Works Cited Hardesty, L. (2013) DC Finalizes Regulations for Benchmarking Energy Use in Large Buildings http://www.energymanagertoday.com/dc-finalizes-regulations-for-benchmarking-energy-use-in-largebuildings-088580/ Brown, Alex. (2013) “A Bid to ‘Shame’ Building Owners Into Energy Efficiency.” http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/a-bid-to-shame-building-owners-into-energy-efficiency20130912?mrefid=mostViewed www.dcseu.org Edes, A. (2013) “Study Questions Usefulness of Mayor’s Energy Proposal” http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/03/27/study-questions-effectiveness-energy-monitoringreporting-programs/Tx1YO4bltHxB4x6krrvCHN/story.html Hardesty, L. (2013) “87% of Seattle’s Large Buildings Report Energy Usage” http://www.energymanagertoday.com/87-of-seattles-large-buildings-report-energy-usage-089029/ District Department of the Environment, Energy Bench Marking Case Studies http://green.dc.gov/service/energy-benchmarking-case-studies Stein, E. (2011) New York City’s Split Incentive “Trifecta”. Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved from website: http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2011/04/05/edf-commends-new-york-city’s-splitincentive-“trifecta”/ City of New York, Mayor's Office. (2013). About planyc page. Retrieved from website: http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/about/about.shtml City of New York, Mayor's Office. (2011). Energy-Aligned Lease Language: Solving the split Incentive Problem. Retrieved from website: http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/downloads/pdf/111213_eal_presentation.pdf . (2010). The perfect marriage of content and technology: Is social media the new CRM? [Press release]. City of New York, Mayor's Office. (2013). New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report. Retrieved from website: http://nytelecom.vo.llnwd.net/o15/agencies/planyc2030/pdf/planyc_progress_report_2013.pdf