The VNE renewable energy goals are to decrease our overall energy costs, to increase our use of renewable energy sources, and to reduce our overall carbon footprint.
Our sustainability plan is designed to enhance our opportunity to enact renewable (green) options that are available to us now while keeping an eye on changes in the energy marketplace and emerging technologies as we move forward. Our progress, to date, has resulted in the following: Modern Solar Voltaic Panels are being installed to address our electrical usage. The panels assist in feeding the building and pass discounted electric service to our building. Installing has begun, to be completed Spring 2022. Building Air Handler Units were replaced with more efficient units. These heat and cool our common areas and are now on an energy management to monitor and adjust as needed. Completed Spring 2020. Condensing Boiler System our two boilers were original to the building and almost 2 stories tall. They were steam vessels and resulted in an estimated 50% efficiency. We replaced these with 4 condensing boilers that are similar in size to a refrigerator. We also replaced our single hot water heater with dual condensing heaters. This allows for redundancy in our system and a better quality of life for residents. Our plant is now up to 95% efficient with these new boilers. Completed Early 2021. Energy Management System This monitors all major building equipment (Chillers, Air Handlers, Roof Fans, Cooling Towers, Boilers, Hot Water Heaters, Electric and Gas meters, etc.) so our Engineers may analyze it for energy usage, reliability and more. This can result in large energy savings by watching trends and adjusting equipment as required. Implemented Early 2021. New Roof Our previous roof insulation was approximately 6" thick. The new roof is approximately 20" thick letting less energy go to waste. Completed Summer 2020. LED Lighting has been installed throughout the buildings hallways, stairwells, garages and utility rooms to reduce our footprint. We encourage all of our residents to use LED lighting in their own units. Full assessment of our current energy usage: A building performance analysis that identifies energy consumption drivers, structural and mechanical performance obstacles and opportunities to achieve a highly efficient energy performance building. This report is available for viewing in the management office. |