Abstract
During 1981, Berkeley Planning Associates designed and field-tested a model for comprehensive energy management in nonprofit student, elderly, and government- assisted multifamily housing. The model was tested with the University Students' Cooperative Association of Berkeley, California, the largest nonprofit student housing cooperative in North America. The program included extensive energy auditing and past consumption data analyses, conservation workshops and seminars for residents, mod ification of energy billing systems, and the installation of energy-saving equipment in the test buildings. Overall energy use in the test buildings was reduced by 24.1% as compared to a 0% change in consumption for the control building sample. Projected annual dollar savings for the test buildings totaled $36, 750. The simple payback period for energy-saving equipment installed in the test buildings (excluding labor) was 1.3 months. The article examines the model developed and implemented and discusses the factors most responsible for program success.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.