Did you know?

Massachusetts spends more per capita on efficiency than any other state, and it requires that its utilities seek cost-effective energy solutions before securing new power sources.

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Massachusetts was named the most energy efficient state in the country for the second time this past October. This particular progress is partly due to the state’s Green Communities Act, which empowers communities to invest in local solutions that expand renewable energy adoption, boost the clean energy industry, and cut overall energy use.

However, energy efficient progress does not always translate into all sectors. According to a recent study conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, public housing is, on average, less energy efficient on a per-square-foot basis than all other U.S. residential households. Reducing public housing energy costs by 10% could save nearly $200 million per year in operating expenses. 

One of the main reasons that contribute to housing authorities being so energy inefficient is due to the lack of capital required to invest in critical and necessary infrastructure and energy enhancements. However, an increasingly-popular option utilized throughout the country is an energy savings performance contract (ESPC), a partnership between an energy services company and a customer where the private company finances the project costs up front, and the customer pays back the amount with a portion of guaranteed energy savings over the duration of the contract.

Again, Massachusetts, and specifically the City of Boston, is spearheading the green revolution in the affordable housing industry by partnering with Framingham-based Ameresco in a $63 million energy performance contract, the nation’s largest public housing energy efficiency project to date. This first-of-its-kind project includes energy efficient technology upgrades and installations to appliances, heating and cooling equipment, windows, lighting, and life-safety systems.

The estimated annual savings on the Boston Housing Authority’s utility bills: $5 million. Electric consumption is expected to fall by about 5 percent, natural gas usage by 36 percent, and water consumption by 37 percent. The BHA has participated in earlier energy performance contracts that saved it more than $17 million. Those contracts allowed the BHA to fully replace the original 1938 heating system at the Mary Ellen McCormack development in South Boston, and most recently facilitated the installation of advanced building systems in twenty four buildings in Charlestown, the Authority’s largest community for low- and moderate-income housing.

While this pathway to energy efficiency may not be the most visually impressive or not always technologically groundbreaking, all enhancements help to lower utility bills, reduce building and infrastructure maintenance, reduce tenant turnover, and ultimately increase the property value and marketability of the facility. This method is actually expanding the idea of what the general public thinks with regards to affordable housing. Other than Boston, similar initiatives have begun in cities like Austin, Chicago, and Minneapolis, with some additional information provided in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing guide.