September 2, 2011
ARGONNE, IL – Sieben Energy Associates (SEA) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), Georgia Institute of Technology, and Skidmore Owings & Merrill on an important assignment that could bring sweeping change to the Chicago Loop. Many existing buildings are prime candidates for energy efficiency retrofits, but a wide variety of barriers—structural, financial, behavioral—prevent projects from moving beyond the proposal stage.
Argonne, SEA, and project partners are seeking to upend that paradigm by developing decision-making tools to overcome those barriers. If successful, the end result will be a greener city center, and Chicago’s approach will serve as an example to other major cities. In supporting the project, SEA is contributing energy engineering expertise and leveraging its extensive knowledge of the Chicago building landscape.
The project team is developing a platform that will assess the potential for energy efficiency in a single building as well as in large groups of buildings. The goal is to encourage Chicago stakeholders—whether building owners and managers, potential investors, or policymakers—to take a second look at the risks and rewards of retrofits. The tools will characterize the probable outcomes of various retrofit strategies, providing fresh insight into the business case for implementation.
Capital-intensive retrofits rather than low-cost operational improvements are necessary for real transformation, but investment in the former is less common than implementation of the latter. SEA is engaging building representatives to become involved in various aspects of tool development. As one of the audiences whom the tool is intended to benefit, understanding their motivations and requirements is critical.
This new project aligns well with existing initiatives in Chicago spearheaded by various local organizations and leaders. For example, the Chicago Climate Action Plan established a goal of retrofitting 50% of the city’s commercial and industrial buildings by 2020. The Clinton Climate Initiative has worked closely with the city’s Department of Environment to retrofit prominent buildings. One of new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s goals is greater realization of efficiency as an energy resource in key municipal zones.
Ultimately, Argonne and its partners seek substantive results that transform Chicago’s commercial building stock, creating momentum for energy efficiency rather than simply reporting the problem and positing solutions.
“This project is a test bed for innovative and impactful energy efficiency-related research in the built environment. Perhaps most importantly, it has the potential to offer a scalable solution to typical energy efficiency barriers,” said Leah Guzowski, Assistant Energy and Environment Policy Scientist with the Center for Energy, Environmental and Economic Systems Analysis at Argonne National Laboratory.
The commercial building sector in and around the Chicago Loop includes over 80 million square feet of rentable space. Upgrading energy-consuming systems in just a fraction of those buildings generates significant long-term energy and cost savings as well as a superior cityscape.
About Sieben Energy Associates
Sieben Energy Associates (SEA) is a strategic and technical consulting firm that specializes in energy efficiency, sustainable design, and strategic energy management solutions. Since 1990, SEA has helped hundreds of clients in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors identify ways to reduce their energy costs, strengthen their sustainability profiles, and implement green solutions for new and existing buildings. SEA helps clients to reduce operating expenses, increase shareholder value, and manage the risks of global climate change.
Contact: Sarah Alice Barnes
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