Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing
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Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Office of Policy Development and Research Visit PD&R’s website huduser.gov to find this report and others sponsored by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). Other services of HUD User, PD&R’s research information service, include listservs, special interest reports, bimonthly publications (best practices, significant studies from other sources), access to public use databases, and a hotline (800-245-2691) for help accessing the information you need. Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing Prepared for: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research Washington, D.C. June 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS/DISCLAIMER ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing report benefited from the generous contributions of many individuals. The development of this report received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH), and Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). We especially appreciate the thoughtful project leadership of Michael J. Early from PD&R’s Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division. We thank Robert D. Dalzell of HUD PIH for his leadership, insight, and guidance, and Michael Freedberg of the HUD Office of Economic Resilience. We also thank the HUD program staff, especially Michael Blanford, Dana Bres, William Jones, Derek Juhl, Chad Ruppel, Candace Simms, and Fay Singer, for their guidance throughout the project. We thank leadership and staff from the housing authorities in which case studies were developed—the Charlotte Housing Authority, Chicago Housing Authority, Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Housing Authority of the City of Austin, Housing Authority of the City of Jennings, King County Housing Authority, and New Bedford Housing Authority. We also thank all those who reviewed the report and provided helpful comments. Without the effort of all those listed, this report would not have been possible. DISCLAIMER The contents of this report are the views of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. government. Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing CONTENTS CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................VIII INTERIM REPORTS .......................................................................................................................................IX DATA COLLECTION .......................................................................................................................................IX AGGREGATE RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................X COMPARISON OF AGGREGATE RESULTS WITH THOSE PROVIDED IN THE YEAR-ONE INTERIM EVALUATION REPORT .......................................................................................................................................................XI OTHER KEY RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................XI Energy Savings Among Competitive Grant Recipients ......................................................................... xi Energy Savings at Site Visit Locations .................................................................................................. xii Paybacks ............................................................................................................................................ xiii EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL ENERGY SAVINGS ...........................................................................................XIV ENERGY SAVINGS MODEL AND TOOL .........................................................................................................XIV RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................XV Enhancing Program Benefits ............................................................................................................... xv Speeding Up the Program Review Process .......................................................................................... xv INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 TIMELINE OF HUD’s ARRA-FUNDED ENERGY PROGRAMS .............................................................................2 PREVIOUS GERA REPORTS TO HUD ..............................................................................................................3 SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS ..............................................................................................................................3 METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES ....................................................................5 STUDY APPROACH .......................................................................................................................................5 MODEL ACCURACY REGARDING THE GREEN RETROFIT PROGRAM FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ..................7 RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS ...........................................................................................................................7 GRP Approach .......................................................................................................................................7 GERA Preliminary Energy Savings Model ..............................................................................................8 Calculating Returns on Energy-Efficiency Investments..........................................................................9 Data Sources for the GERA Study .........................................................................................................11 Assessment of ARRA Green and Energy Retrofits in HUD-Subsidized Housing | iii CONTENTS Data Collection Survey ........................................................................................................................12 Preparing and Implementing the Survey ............................................................................................12 AGGREGATE ENERGY SAVINGS ............................................................................ 13 FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM .....................................................................................................................13 COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM ................................................................................................................13 Survey Findings ..................................................................................................................................13 Estimated Energy Savings ...................................................................................................................14 GREEN RETROFIT PROGRAM FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ENERGY SAVINGS .............................................15 TOTAL ENERGY SAVINGS FROM HUD’s ARRA-FUNDED ENERGY RETROFITS .................................................16 COMPARISON OF ENERGY SAVINGS WITH THE YEAR-ONE INTERIM EVALUATION REPORT ESTIMATE .........16 ENERGY-EFFICIENT UNIT EQUIVALENTS ......................................................................................................16 Competitive Grant Program ................................................................................................................17 Formula Grant Program.......................................................................................................................17 Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing .................................................................................17 TOTAL UNIT EQUIVALENTS ..........................................................................................................................18 COMPARISON OF THE UNIT EQUIVALENT ESTIMATE WITH THE YEAR-ONE INTERIM EVALUATION REPORT ESTIMATE ...................................................................................................................................................18 WATER SAVINGS .........................................................................................................................................18 Comparison of the Water Savings Estimate With the Year-One Interim Evaluation Report Estimate ...19 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS ............................................................................................................19 SITE VISITS .......................................................................................................20 PROPERTIES VISITED ..................................................................................................................................20 ENERGY SAVINGS RESULTS .........................................................................................................................22 PAYBACK ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................24 CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE SITE VISITS ...........................................................................................25 CASE STUDIES ..................................................................................................26