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Parkside Energy Audit |

A Recommendation Report For the Parkside Housing Coalition Board of Directors |

Niesha Harris e2306829 |

Summary

This report summarizes a plan to reduce utility bills for Parkside residents. The key to this plan is a process known as an energy audit.

Expert Advice

At its spring meeting, the board of directors of Parkside Housing Coalition asked me to propose a plan to reduce utility bills for Parkside residents by at least 10%. To make sure I proposed the most effective plan possible, I decided to seek the advice of experts. Fortunately, one of the area’s top experts in energy efficiency, Tomas Carson, president of Energy Experts Consulting, LLC, offered the services of his staff pro bono. Thanks to his offer, I was able to meet several times with the following consultants:

Tandra J. Melleray Associate Engineer

Susan Tiy Senior Engineer

Peter Zaravaggio Community Liaison

Our conversation focused on ways to reduce utility bills for Parkside residents. Under their guidance, I also studied information obtained from the League of Urban Housing Professionals and the Illinois Utility Taskforce. This research suggests that our first step is to conduct energy audits of all our properties.

What is an Energy Audit?

An energy audit is an analysis of a building’s energy efficiency. With the results of an energy audit in hand, the property owner can make physical improvements designed to improve the building’s energy efficiency. A simple, low-budget energy audit might consist of walking through a building and identifying sources of cold drafts. On the other end of the scale are comprehensive audits that entail an exhaustive inspection of the site, long-term metering of energy consuming systems, in-depth interviews with the facility manager, and a study of utility bills ranging over 36 months or more.

A comprehensive audit, which is typically performed by an energy consulting company, is only cost-effective for corporations that need to maintain a...