April 2007

Information by State  Print version   In This Issue This bi-monthly newsletter is designed to bring you the latest in HUD energy news. To ensure that you don't miss a single issue, please subscribe here.   Report Submitted to Congress on HUD's Energy Strategy - Secretary Commits to Full Implementation   109th Congress Extends Residential Energy Tax Credit   Phase I of PATH Uniform Energy Efficient Remodeling Protocols Completed   Support Contract Awarded for Implementing HUD's Energy Action Plan   On-Line Bulk Purchasing Tool Developed for ENERGY STAR Products   New England Communities Adopt ENERGY STAR for HUD-Funded Projects   First Annual Report on Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency Released   HUD Participates in Annual ENERGY STAR Change a Light Campaign   Getting the Most Out of Your Water Heater   Upcoming Events Energy Webcasts Coming Soon! As noted elsewhere in this newsletter, a four-part series of energy webcasts is being planned for 2007. These will be free and will each last 3 hours. Expert faculty will provide information, news, and resources for energy-efficient operations and maintenance, single- and multi-family retrofit and remodeling strategies and techniques, and new construction techniques, including green building and renewable resources. Housing managers, developers, and operators will receive a Certificate of Completion from HUD for successfully completing the four webcasts. Training is open to HUD staff, grantees, and partners. The first webcast is Thursday, April 12, 2007, from 2-5 PM EDT. Register now...

Report Submitted to Congress on HUD's Energy Strategy - Secretary Commits to Full Implementation

HUD has submitted a Report to Congress on HUD's integrated energy strategy for public and assisted housing, as required under Section 154 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The report (PDF) was delivered to Congress on August 8, 2006, as required by the statute. It contains a total of 25 actions addressing both public and assisted housing, as well as a range of other actions, both Department-wide and program-specific, that HUD will undertake as part of its Phase II Energy Action Plan. Key offices that contributed to the report were: the Offices of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), Public and Indian Housing, Housing, Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, Community Planning and Development, and Field Policy and Management. In transmitting the Report to Congress, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson committed the agency to implementing the actions outlined in the report and noted that "containing HUD's estimated $4 billion 'energy bill' will generate savings for taxpayers and leverage resources for housing authorities and others to address pressing housing needs." A progress report is due in two years, in August 2008.

109th Congress Extends Residential Energy Tax Credit

In the last days of the 109th Congress, the residential energy tax credit for new energy-efficient homes was extended for one year, through 2008. The Congress did not include an extension of the federal income tax credit of up to $500 for efficiency upgrades to existing homes. The tax credit for existing homes, which is set to expire at the end of 2007, helps defray homeowners' costs of energy-efficiency measures - from low-cost purchases such as insulation and sealants to more costly investments like new windows, furnaces, and central air conditioners - that, in turn, will lower consumers' energy bills. For more information on the energy tax credit extension, visit the Alliance to Save Energy, www.ase.org.

Phase I of PATH Uniform Energy Efficient Remodeling Protocols Completed

In partnership with the remodeling industry, the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) has initiated a multi-year project aimed at developing voluntary guidelines, or protocols, for energy-efficient remodeling of existing homes. As called for in the PATH Roadmap for Energy Efficiency in Existing Homes, the protocols will provide guidance to remodelers and trade contractors as well as to homeowners, to help ensure that dollars invested in energy upgrades result in maximum savings. In addition, the protocols will provide a consistent, high-quality approach that can be used by those who work in the remodeling and housing rehabilitation industry, and also impact energy efficiency decision-making by property owners. The protocols will enhance the credibility of the $240 billion remodeling industry, by providing guidelines that can be relied on to generate real energy savings. An initial set of draft protocols, drafted by the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (www.ibts.org) is posted on the PATH web site. Find out more under current projects at www.pathnet.org.

Support Contract Awarded for Implementing HUD's Energy Action Plan

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research has awarded a contract to New West Technologies, LLC to support the implementation of HUD's Energy Action Plan. The contract will assist HUD to implement key elements of HUD's Phase II Energy Action Plan. The contract requires the New West Team, which includes Energetics Incorporated, to assist HUD in implementing various technical support activities aimed at educating and informing HUD staff, customers and partners about various elements of the Plan; convening a roundtable of national energy partners; arranging a series of four webcasts/satellite broadcasts for building managers and maintenance staff; preparing a bi-monthly e-newsletter; and providing additional logistical and technical support activities for program and Field offices on an as-needed basis. Watch for news and updates on these activities as the year progresses!

On-Line Bulk Purchasing Tool Developed for ENERGY STAR Products

To assist housing sponsors in gaining access to the widest possible range of ENERGY STAR products, the Department of Energy (DOE) and HUD have developed a web-based tool to simplify the process for obtaining ENERGY STAR product price information and buying ENERGY STAR products. The ENERGY STAR Bulk Purchasing Tool provides affordable housing sponsors with on-line access to manufacturers and suppliers of ENERGY STAR products. The manufacturers and suppliers participating in this initiative have agreed to offer bulk purchase pricing. Because the number of participating manufacturers and suppliers of ENERGY STAR products is not restricted, the quotes provided will be competitive. The Bulk Purchasing Tool offers public housing authorities, affordable housing sponsors, and other organizations with a one-stop site to access a broad menu of ENERGY STAR products and equipment at competitive, bulk purchase pricing. Use of the web-based on-line program does not require special software. The tool was developed and piloted in HUD's Region IX, and is now available nationally. More information is available at www.bulkpurchase.net.

New England Communities Adopt ENERGY STAR for HUD-Funded Projects

Thirty-nine CDBG and HOME grantees in New England have committed to use ENERGY STAR for new home construction. As a result, more than 5,100 ENERGY STAR-certified HOME-funded units have been completed or are under construction in the region. 2,826 ENERGY STAR-certified units have been completed and another 2,339 are under construction (as of September 2006) that meet the standard for ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes. The portion of all HOME-funded units meeting ENERGY STAR rose from 42% in 2005 to 78% in 2006. HUD's Region I Director of Community Planning and Development (CPD) initiated a multi-phased campaign to drive home the value of ENERGY STAR quality in maintaining housing affordability, to explain how grantees can encourage contractors to build to those qualifications, and to identify and help remove obstacles to the use of ENERGY STAR in new home construction. See the PowerPoint presentation, "ENERGY STAR for Grantees" (PDF).

First Annual Report on Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency Released

According to the first annual report of the Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency, homes account for about 21% of U.S. energy use and cause about 17 % of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The Partnership, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and HUD, aims to reduce energy consumption in existing homes by 10 % by 2015. Meeting this goal would save $20 billion a year in utility costs, increase home affordability and comfort, reduce demand for natural gas by nearly 1% of total U.S. energy demand, and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from over 25 million vehicles. The combined efforts of the three agencies have improved the energy efficiency of more than 337,000 homes and apartments across the United States over the past year. The report also states that public housing authorities (PHAs) have invested close to $350 million in energy improvements as of 2006, using energy performance contracts. Energy savings resulting from these contracts are valued at $37 million. The number of PHAs entering into performance contracts has increased by an average of 24% since 2000. View the entire report (PDF).

HUD Participates in Annual ENERGY STAR Change a Light Campaign

Last fall, HUD joined with EPA and DOE to participate in the ENERGY STAR Change a Light/Change the World Campaign. At the October, 2006, kickoff and press event at the National Press Club in Washington D.C EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson joined with DOE and HUD, represented by Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Darlene Williams, to encourage public and private organizations across the country to participate in the campaign. It is estimated that as many as 500,000 light bulbs have been or will be replaced this season as a result of the Campaign. HUD field offices reported a wide range of activities throughout the country. Some examples: in Phoenix, the Maricopa Housing Authority replaced lights with several hundred new compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs); in Las Vegas, the housing authority replaced all lighting with CFLs in 150 units; in Seattle, each resident in a senior housing project received four replacement CFLs; in New Jersey, the Paterson Housing Authority replaced existing light bulbs with CFLs. Preliminary results indicate that as a result of these activities, at least 1,000 HUD partners participated in the Campaign, pledging to replace more than 4,800 light bulbs for a savings of 1.3 million kilowatt hours or $138,000. Read more at www.energystar.gov/changealight.

Getting the Most Use of Your Hot Water Heater

[from ACEEE's Grapevine Online]
Residential water heating consumes 13% of residential energy use, making it the second-largest home energy user. The energy-efficiency of most conventional storage water heaters, however, is nearing its technical potential, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). To remedy this persistent lag in water heater efficiency, the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program of the California Energy Commission has funded a large-scale effort to explore barriers to improved efficiency and both technical and market opportunities for improvement. The "SEGWHAI" (Super Efficient Gas Water Heating Appliance Initiative) project is developing a program for manufacturers to bid for incentives for the best possible non-condensing units, and the most cost-effective condensing units. It is hoped that efficiencies can be increased by 17% - 37%. Shifting the U.S. residential water heater market to these high-performance technologies could save up to 5 percent of national residential energy use. SEGWHAI is working to design rebates for these super-efficient water heaters, to be available in 2008. To find out more, visit www.segwhai.org.

Upcoming Events

Energy Efficient Building Operations
Multi-Family Building Operators Specialist Training
March 29 - April 26, 2007
(5 Thursdays)
New York City, New York
www.aeanyc.org

Energy Efficiency Finance Forum
Advancing the Next Frontier in Clean Energy Investing
April 12-13, 2007
New York City, New York
www.aceee.org

ACI Home Performance Conference
April 21-23, 2007
Cleveland, Ohio
www.affordablecomfort.org