HOPE Decreases Energy Footprint While Saving Money for Residents
“According to the USGBS, commercial and residential buildings produce 39% of CO2 emission in our country each year. It starts with the energy required to grow, create, or extract the materials necessary for construction, it continues on to the transportation of these materials, and it ends with how we use these homes during their lifespans.”
Homes are an essential part of our lives. They can invoke the feeling of warmth, family, security, and joy. It is important to also be mindful of their immense environmental impact. The nonprofit housing sector acknowledges this issue and must collectively take steps to contribute to a solution. Back in April, HOPE announced an initiative to partner with Solar City in an effort provide housing that increasingly “treads lightly on the earth.” During the final week of June and first two weeks in July, multiple teams of technicians from Solar City were onsite installing solar power systems at 11 HOPE homes in the cities of Norwalk and Long Beach.
Solar City is a full-service solar provider and national industry leader. Their solar photovoltaic panels generate energy at a lower cost that energy generated from coal, oil, and natural gas. They are a full service firm that facilitates planning, permitting, instillation, ongoing monitoring, and repairs as needed. For HOPE, who is leasing the equipment from Solar City, it was important to partner with a company with a long track record of guaranteeing stable energy sources for residents at an increasingly affordable rate. Estimates have projected a 30-35% decrease in energy expenses.
“Most of these emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels to provide heating, cooling and lighting, and to power appliances and electrical equipment. By transforming the built environment to be more energy-efficient and climate-friendly, the building sector can play a major role in reducing the threat of climate change.”
HOPE prides itself on owning the best maintained home on the block. Property improvements are scheduled to ensure safety for our residents, but also to maintain the value of our housing stock. Associate Director at HOPE, Denise Fanelli, informed that in recently years HOPE had enhanced HVAC systems in many of these homes. “Air conditioning is so important to our elderly residents, as well as those tenants with serious medical conditions. Leadership at HOPE felt it was important to counteract any increase in energy usage in our portfolio due to installing these units.” Utilizing solar panels at these homes does just that.
We are proud of this decision to continue to implement environmentally friendly and fiscally sound investments in the lives of our residents and community. Our objective has been achieved by decreasing our use of carbon based electricity while lowering utility costs for our tenants.