Historic Structure Receives Energy Retrofit

As Part of the CharlestonWISE Impact Project, this historic Charleston home built around 1880 received an energy retrofit.  The CharlestonWISE Impact Project is a partnership program between the City of Charleston and The Sustainability Institute (SI), and funded through a grant from the Sustainable Cities Institute.  The Project provided valuable support for the growth and development of the CharlestonWISE program through data collection, community outreach, market analysis and workforce development.  I helped to complete the project as one of my first responsibilities at SI.  During 2011 and 2012 the Project performed 152 home energy assessments and 17 home energy retrofits on homes throughout the City of Charleston. These assessments provided much needed information on how our homes use energy and how we can better help all Charleston residents reduce their energy use and have healthy, comfortable, energy-efficient homes.  17 out of the 152 homes that received energy assessments also were chosen to receive various levels of energy retrofits.  More on the Impact Project here.

For the pdf click on CWIP Case Study 1

This home received a comprehensive energy assessment by a qualified energy advocate.  This assessment modeled energy improvements and recommended a scope of work specific to the house.  Subsequently, the home received an energy retrofit with projections of 55% improvement in energy savings.  We will revisit this home a year later to reanalyze the data and projections.  Improving an existing home is more sustainable then building a new one.  Improving a home that is historic helps to ensure that these treasures stay around for many more years to come.  The Southeastern climate presents some unique challenges due to its warmth and humidity.  If not done properly, irreversible damage can be dome to historic homes when a retrofit takes place.  That’s why we worked hard to deliver a curriculum for contractors, energy auditors and historic preservation professionals that focused on improving energy efficiency while maintaining historic integrity.  By replacing an aging improperly sized heating & air conditioning system in this home with mini splits and ductless units, we able to utilize new technology and minimize impact to the home.  By encapsulating the attic area with open cell spray foam in a removable manner, we improved the building envelope while preserving the historical integrity of the structure.

Another retrofit conducted as part of this Project can be found here.

 

Update 4/29/13: More on the Impact Project here.

Charleston Green Business Challenge

The Charleston Green Business Challenge (GBC) is wrapping up it’s second year and is now taking sign ups for 2013.  As part of the steering committee, I’ve recently been assisting with the scoring of about 50 businesses’ 2012 scorecards.  Green Business Challenges and similar programs have popped up around the country and are a great way to educate and really scale up city sustainability.  The Charleston program has helped a total of 135 businesses meet their goal of providing a healthier and more sustainable work environment. In the first year, businesses averaged over $6,000 in financial savings as they achieved their green business goals.  All participants are a part of a unique team of almost 7 million square feet of offices and businesses in the Lowcountry who each offer inspiring contributions to what it means to operate a green business.  Collectively the GBC as a whole implemented about 600 new green strategies throughout the year.

The goals of the voluntary Charleston’s Green Business Challenge are to improve environmental performance of commercial and institutional buildings and their operations. Three key elements are reducing energy, waste and water. Going green is not just the right thing to do for the community and the planet; it has many good financial and health benefits as well. Many building owners and companies have noted significant bottom line financial savings from their environmental and energy efficiency initiatives. Participating in the GBC will allow businesses, institutions and Charleston, to get a head start on these savings and these environmental benefits.

The GBC is led by the City of Charleston.  The primary interest for the City is to continue to assist businesses with ways to save money through practices that will both benefit their business and the community as a whole. The idea is to offer a program that provides an easy path to improvement that is both measurable and achievable. The twelve month program allows businesses to see results throughout the process. It rewards not only reducing waste and consumption, but also incentivizes community involvement and stewardship. The program is managed by the Planning, Preservation and Sustainability Department at the City of Charleston.

From the GBC Team:

On March 1st we start our new GBC year. We hope your team will join us.

Here’s what we know.

• The Green Business Challenge is a great way to get your team behind energy, water and waste reduction strategies as well as buying local.
• Your team will make your own goals.
• We’ll have trainings that will help connect you with resources as well as learn from each other.
• And we’ll have fun celebrating everyone’s successes-more on that in another paragraph.

To get started in this year’s GBC, click here to sign up for your businesses password and login.

The Classic City

In 2011, I attended an Alumni Leadership Conference at the University of Georgia in Athens.  (Go Dawgs)  The city ranks high on desirable places to live and near the top of my favorite cities.  The university campus has undergone a lot of change with a lot of upgrades since I completed my undergraduate studies there in 2003.  The infrastructure and layout of the University has expanded and been updated.  There actually is an Office of Sustainability at UGA now and while we were in town, we were given a presentation and tour of some of the newer buildings and checked out upgrades to some of the existing ones.  The students there today are spoiled.  The dorms, dining halls, student centers and various other places around campus are so much nicer today than when I was in school.  Importance has been placed on energy efficiency, walkability, transportation and a myriad of other factors that make the campus and therefore the city a great place to study sustainability in the South.  UGA set goals in the areas of ecosytems, water, energy, and the built environment.  They have articulated a vision and you can tell they are making good progress on their goals.  Below are some of the pics.  Enjoy!

Historic Fourth Ward Park

I visited the Historic Fourth Ward Park in Atlanta in 2011.  It is located behind the Ponce City Market redevelopment and is a part of the Atlanta Beltline, one of my favorite projects in the country of which I’ve been following the progress of ever since I lived in Atlanta and the idea first started to take root.  The Fourth Ward Park has so many sustainable features incorporated into the design but the hopes of helping to spur revitalization in the area is its most crucial function.  Providing an area for residents to gather and play and have a place they can be proud of is critical to the larger redevelopment efforts in the area.  I was impressed and pleased to see the progress on this visit.  More detailed info can be found here.  Enjoy the pics!