Colorado State Partner Hosts Event on Reducing Energy Costs in Affordable Housing

More than 30 Colorado housing developers and service providers attended a training session in January to learn ways to reduce energy costs in affordable housing developments. Organized by Housing Colorado, an NLIHC state coalition partner, the event showcased proven, cost-effective models that help to reduce energy consumption and provide a safe and comfortable environment for residents.Housing Colorado hosted the in-person training to address the challenge of rising utility costs in affordable housing. Residents sometimes pay as much or more each month for utilities as they do for rent, making the combined cost very burdensome. For several years, policy makers and advocates have encouraged making such energy efficient upgrades as replacing boilers, using LED lights, and substituting air conditioning with evaporative coolers to increase affordability. For owners, reduced utility costs from energy efficiency improvements can be beneficial, with projected gains to their operating budgets over a decades-long span.Ravi Malhotra, founder and president of the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (iCAST), told attendees about the organization’s ResourceSmart energy efficiency initiative, which assists nonprofit organizations, community partnerships, housing providers, commercial businesses, and individual residences with obtaining efficiency upgrades. He used case studies of its work to show savings associated with upgrading housing developments across the state. For instance, a Leadvill, CO housing complex worked with iCAST and achieved $2,155 in savings annually as a result of attic insulation.Rick Garcia, HUD’s Rocky Mountain regional administrator, spoke at the training about the department’s progress on its green retrofit goals. In FY12, HUD completed 83,051 green and healthy units, well ahead of its 75,670 target. This work includes efforts through the Healthy Homes and Lead Grant Program, HOME program new construction, and public housing upgrades. Through its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, HUD also plans to enable the cost-effective and green energy retrofit of at least 159,000 units by 2015 in an effort to reduce energy cost and greenhouse gases.Mr. Garcia discussed HUD’s new multifamily energy efficiency pilot initiative, which leverages private capital to make energy-related improvements at its properties. Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future will work with HUD to determine the effectiveness of energy performance contracting—which the federal government uses to advance energy efficiency in its buildings—as a retrofit tool for privately-owned multi-family developments. Also discussed was HUD’s new Affordable Green Initiative, which provides sustainability and green building tools to grantees and affordable housing organizations through training, technical assistance and accreditation.Cris White, executive director for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), spoke about the Enterprise Green Communities program, which Enterprise Community Partners spearheads to ensure that all housing with public subsidy and long-term affordability requirements benefit from green practices by 2020. CHFA adopted the program as a requirement for participation in the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. It formed a subcommittee in 2012 to help guide its exploration of the future of green building requirements in the state’s Qualified Allocation Plan. Composed of developers, contractors, energy raters and architects, the subcommittee will analyze the Green Communities program’s impact on LIHTC developments in Colorado, and provide recommendations for the 2014 plan.Advocates were pleased with participants’ engagement during and following the presentations.“Making energy efficiency upgrades benefits developers, property owners and, most important, residents,” said Sara Reynolds, executive director at Housing Colorado. “This event helped attendees identify the first steps in making the change to a more sustainable housing solution. We look forward to continuing to offer educational programs where our members can stay on top of emerging affordable housing trends and issues.” For more information, contact Sarah Cole at [email protected]