Deborah Philbrick, Elevate Energy

1. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Making the Case for
Energy Efficiency
Deborah Philbrick
May 15, 2014

2. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Energy Efficient Buildings
Making energy efficiency upgrades easy and affordable
Program approach guides property owners through the upgrade
process
 Energy assessments
 Cost-effective recommendations
 Financing options through lending partners and assistance in obtaining
incentives and rebates
 Construction oversight and quality assurance
 Savings monitoring and reporting

3. ©2014 Elevate Energy
What we do…

4. ©2014 Elevate Energy
The Benefits of Energy Efficiency
Driving investment in energy efficiency requires measuring of all
benefits.
 Non-energy benefits
 Job creation
 Lower building operating costs
 Tenant retention
 HEALTH and safety

5. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Health and Safety Concerns
 Under/overheated units
 Combustion byproducts
 Natural gas leaks
 Asbestos
 Lead*

6. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Case Study: Boulevard Apartments
 70 Units across 3 buildings
 Gut rehabbed in 1991
 Tenant paid gas and electricity
 19% gas cost savings
 17% reduction maintenance costs
 89% of tenants said they would ask about efficiency
 30% of tenants more confident and less stress

7. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Watts to Well-being in a nutshell…
 Implement energy efficiency upgrades in 248 households
across Boston, Chicago, and NYC
 Take baseline assessments of self-rated health, home
conditions, and air quality pre-retrofit (median=2 weeks)
 Repeat measurements post-retrofit (40%=12 months; 60%=
3.5 months)

8. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Highlights from the Results- Health
Post-retrofit (Adults):
 Decrease in self-rated:
 Fair/poor general health (11%)
 Sinusitis (5%)
 Hypertension (14%)
 Use of asthma medication (20%)*
 Uncomfortable temperature in winter 55%39%
 Uncomfortable temperature in summer 64%45%
 Water leak or dampness 52%42%

9. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Conclusions
 It’s important to tailor the benefits you discuss to the
stakeholder (building owners, financiers)
 Think local
 The need for cross-industry funded projects
 Energy
 Housing
 Health
 Water

10. ©2014 Elevate Energy
Questions? -- Stay in Touch
@elevate_energy
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Deborah Philbrick
Deborah.Philbrick@ElevateEnergy.org
773.321.2682
ElevateEnergy.org