Cook County Energy Savers Program a Top U.S. Retrofit Performer

Innovative Retrofit Program Moves to Scale Quickly, Achieves Effective Energy Savings

CHICAGO, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chicagoland's Energy Savers program is proving that energy retrofits can scale-up quickly, reaching thousands of residents and delivering cost-effective, large-scale benefits.

In just 18 months, the Cook County Energy Savers program has retrofit 3,500 apartments and other rental units in Chicago and neighboring communities and has 2,500 additional units in construction, with typical energy savings of 30 percent.

Operated by CNT Energy, a division of the nonprofit Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), Energy Savers has conducted energy efficiency audits for more than 9,000 housing units in 300 buildings.  The program is on track to complete more than 8,500 retrofits by the end of this year, making it one of the country's largest and most successful programs for retrofitting existing multi-family, rental housing.

Launched with support from the City of Chicago and three major foundations, Energy Savers also includes low-interest loans from Community Investment Corporation that help building owners pay for new heating and cooling equipment, new windows and insulation, and other energy conserving improvements.   The program is one of six key initiatives spearheaded by The Preservation Compact, a public/private partnership working to preserve and improve the supply of affordable rental housing throughout Cook County.

"We are excited that Energy Savers has achieved such solid results in such a short period of time," said Julia Stasch, co-chair of The Preservation Compact and Vice President for Human and Community Development at The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  "Thanks to its partners' expertise and their readiness to rapidly expand, Energy Savers has quickly delivered on two key objectives of the economic recovery: creating new jobs and achieving sustainable energy efficiency."  

Of particular note is the Energy Savers sustainable business model, which moved from grant funding for start-up to long-term financing shared by building owners and the local utilities in 18 months.

Building owner Don Wenzel rehabilitated five multi-family buildings on Chicago's south side with Energy Savers, reducing his buildings' energy bills between 26% and 43%. "I saved over $30,000 on my operating costs last year," Don said. "This is the best investment I've made in my property in the last 10 years."

Energy Savers also addresses one of the top priorities of the Chicago Climate Action Plan by directly reducing energy used to heat or cool homes and commercial buildings across the Chicago area.  According to analysis for the Chicago Climate Action Plan by CNT, such uses account for 70 percent of the city's entire greenhouse gas emissions.  

These proven cost and energy benefits have made Energy Savers the model for a new region-wide effort to take energy efficiency services and financing to scale for both single and multi-family housing and for non-residential buildings.  The new effort, which builds on Energy Savers' sustainable business model, is backed by CNT Energy and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).

Currently, CMAP is playing a direct role in managing the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program for the State of Illinois in the Chicago Metropolitan region. Executive Director Randy Blankenhorn commented, "As we move into implementation of GO TO 2040, our 30-year planning roadmap, CMAP believes that large-scale energy efficiency strategies will be integral to achieving environmental sustainability and realizing the plan's vision."  

The Chicago Community Trust, a regional community foundation, provided funding for this ambitious planning process.  "The relationships and trust necessary to jointly pursue such bold goals as preserving rental housing are exactly what's needed to achieve a meaningful scale of cost-effective energy efficiency," said Terry Mazany, President and CEO of the Trust. "This was proven recently again in Chicago, as local foundations, CNT Energy, and CMAP teamed up to assist all 42 local governments whose federal energy block grant assistance required the creation of a local energy use baseline and a plan to improve it. This huge task would have been impossible to achieve within a few weeks if undertaken by each municipality independently."

About the Preservation Compact

The Preservation Compact brings together the region's public, private and nonprofit leaders to address the loss of affordable rental housing stock in Cook County by helping to preserve 75,000 affordable rental homes by 2020.  Energy Savers is one of the Compact's six keystone initiatives.

About CNT Energy

CNT Energy is a division of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. CNT Energy operates programs that help consumers and communities obtain the information and services they need to control energy costs and become more energy efficient. CNT Energy operates the Cook County Energy Savers Program, as well as cutting edge programs and research in the areas of dynamic electricity pricing, building performance, and regional energy planning. For more information about Energy Savers, contact Anne Evens, Director, CNT Energy, at 773-269-4045 or [email protected].

SOURCE The Preservation Compact