Saving energy, saving money?
That's the question surrounding the $133 million renovation to be done to the bland, concrete Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, OR (shown in picture).
According to The New York Times, most of the work will be in the form of energy conservation: low-flow toilets, solar panels, and the utilization of rainwater. But there's also a plan to train plants to climb "fins" that will span the entire 200-foot face of the building, providing shade in the summer months and further cutting energy costs.
It's a noble plan, but it's validity is being challenged by the likes of senators John McCain and Tom Coburn, who ranked the project second on their list, Stimulus Checkup, that details what they see as waste in stimulus-funded projects. (A similar building was built from scratch in San Francisco for $144 million).
Though the project might not be cost-efficient, the idea of improvements to save energy is a sound one. A study by McKinsey and Company found that if existing homes just sealed their heating and air conditioning ducts, installed a programmable thermostat, and insulated the attic, the U.S. would save 920 trillion BTU's of energy.
With 3,413 BTU's per kilowatt-hour, the average home using 11,232 killawatt hours per year, and the price of energy averaging 11.76 cents per kilowatt-hour, that's a savings of… (carry the one, divide by eleventy-seven…) over $31 billion. That's no small chunk of change. It's also enough energy to power 23 million homes for a year.
So while one's smart idea is another's waste, this issue boils down to Rasheed Wallace's sage advice: ball (or in this case, money) don't lie.
--Brandon
Hi again Brandon
I haven't been here it seems for a little while, hope you are doing well and staying away from the darn flu going around,
You did another great artical as usual. Last winter we did a lot to our home, Siding-Double Windows-Gutters-Instant Hot Water Tank-New Gas Furnace With Programable Thermastat-
So I think we did about all we can do, So we have done our part, so hope other people join in. Hugs Rosalyn
Nice work! You are definately picking up the slack for those of us who haven't gotten around to making these crucial repairs and upgrades.
Thanks for always being here to keep the blog lively!
--Brandon
I am not sure what the pay back time would be as far as cost goes but I am always interested in what the carbon pay back time is for all the work and material that goes into renovating the building.
If it takes 25 years of saving 10% on the gas bill to "pay back" all the gas and oil it took to mine, process, transport and install the new materials and the building gets renovated in 15 years anyways...you just end up very deep in the hole.
Not to sound like a pessimist but I think some of these projects get much more PR than they deserve.
Its the little things that people can do like you listed at the end with attic insulation and programmable thermostats that I really think make the biggest difference and don't get the publicity they deserve.
That's a really good point. It obviously doesn't do anybody any good to install "green" products or make renovations when the environmental impact of manufacture is greater than the impact they reduce over their liftime.
My guess (and this is just my personal opinion) is that part of trying to help the environment is about getting the message out. For example, is it better to protect 100 acres of forest, or have 5 acres of it turned into an interpretive walking path and saving the other 95 acres? On one hand, saving the full 100 acres would be the most environmentally friendly. On the other, if those 5 acres get people into the forest to learn about ecosystems and develop an understanding of how the earth works, it may impact them to modify their behavior or change their beliefs that could, in turn, save many more acres of forest.
So it may be with this project. By making these changes to a federal building, it may be that a message is being sent that this is something that everyone needs to pay attention to.
Let us know what you think, and thanks for the comment.
--Brandon
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