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When it comes to making buildings more energy efficient, there are the elaborate steps, like solar panels and green roofs. And there are simpler measures, like updating water boilers and installing controllable thermostats.
A report focusing on apartments has found that small upgrades can amount to large savings. Deutsche Bank and Livable Cities looked at 19,000 apartments in New York City. They found that retrofitted units saved hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs.
Environmentalists have been pushing for retrofitting for years. Now they finally have the dollar signs to back them up. The hope is that the report will convince landlords to invest in greening their properties and encourage lenders to underwrite such upgrades.
The U.S. Government has found its own greening efforts are paying off. A Department of Energy study concluded that its retrofitted office space used a quarter of the electricity, and costs about 20 percent less to maintain. Water use and carbon emissions were also down compared to other types of office buildings.
But still… only a fraction of buildings across the country have undergone green upgrades. The Department of Energy is trying to up that number. Its Better Buildings Initiative is promoting energy saving strategies and working with Congress to create tax incentives – with the goal of making commercial buildings 20% more energy efficient by 2020.
Whether it is conscience or the electric bill – making the investment into even simple energy saving methods makes a dramatic impact on emissions and resource strain.
Photo, taken on October 20, 2006, courtesy of Eszter Hargittai via Flickr.