DOE/EE-0226

View from DC –

Gateway Program

Continued on page 10

Solutions - Duke’s

Energy Team

Southwest Tribes 

Update

“Most Livable Cities” Energy Star® 

Label For

Schools 

Energy Efficiency Begins

at Home

Rebuild Boston Pushes for Better

City Housing

Rebuild Boston Energy Initiative, one of the

first Rebuild America partnerships,has carved its niche

by using energy efficiency as a catalyst for revitalizing

economically distressed neighborhoods of Boston. To

date,the partnership has helped facilitate the increased

energy efficiency of more than 13 million square feet

of new and retrofitted facilities in the City.

From the beginning,Rebuild Boston was a broadbased effort involving city government,utilities,and

energy services companies and community-based

organizations belonging to its lead partner,the

Northeast Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC).

Finding its Niche

The partnership hit its stride by targeting residences

and small businesses that were under-served by

existing programs – emphasizing those in distressed

areas who were served least of all,says Mike

John Snell, John Manning and Mike Sherman of 

Rebuild Boston

Ellisville,MS (population 3,634) is a

small town that is abuzz with energy

this summer over the city's Hotel

Alice renovation project. The life

forces behind this project are

Rebuild Mississippi and the hotel's

owners, Jan and Eddie Malone.

In 1999,the Malones,near-lifetime

residents of Ellisville,had a vision to

convert the abandoned three-story,

11,500-square-foot historic building

into a Bed and Breakfast,with a coffee

shop/restaurant and antiques shop on

the first floor. Built in 1902,the

building is eligible for membership in

the National Historic Registry,which

will entitle the Malones to a 20-

percent tax credit. Jan Malone is

working with the Mississippi

Department of Archives and History

to establish this designation.

Realizing the major renovation was

necessary,Malone called upon Dr.

Barbara Ousby,the Mississippi state

Rebuild America representative,for

support. After the City of Ellisville

became a Rebuild Mississippi partner

in March 2000,the Rebuild Mississippi

team went into action. The team

performed technical analyses on the

building envelope,lighting,windows,

plumbing,gas and electric systems,

heating and cooling systems,roofing,

and insulation and made numerous

recommendations for improvements.

The Malones enlisted an

architectural firm to help retain the

charm and historical features of the

building and to recommend building

materials and equipment that adhere

to National Historic Registry

standards. The total cost of retrofits is

estimated at $335,000,which includes

a new HVAC system,energy-efficient

windows,hot water heaters and

Continued on page 5

8

4 6-7

5

2

2

Visit Our Website:

www.eren.doe.gov/

buildings/rebuild

Nearly 100 years old, the Hotel Alice is

getting a long-overdue face lift.

Mississippi Lives Up to 

“The South’s Warmest

Welcome”

July – August 2000 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy

In 1998,the Rebuild Duke University Facilities partnership successfully

completed lighting and water conservation improvements to 114 academic

buildings. Now,the Energy Team of Duke’s Facilities Management Department has

shifted its focus to HVAC systems and controls and the need to renovate inefficient

and aging systems in many campus buildings.

Heating and Cooling at War

Thirty-year-old variable air volume (VAV) boxes in Duke’s Perkins Library were

wasting energy due to broken and jammed dampers,causing the boxes to stick –

often in the cooling position. The substantial energy drain from overcooling was

made worse by an electric reheating function that wasted even more energy as it

strained to normalize the temperature. The Energy Team replaced each box with a

working system that responds to heat and cold and keeps a stable room

temperature with minimal energy required. Although the library VAV project will

cost $125,000 when complete,the electrical savings are expected to exceed

$25,000 annually. Thus,the measure will pay for itself in five years and will remove

a continual source of maintenance headaches and customer complaints.

Variable-Speed Efficiency

The Energy Team installed variable-speed-drives on fans along with premium

efficiency motors to get the most out of their energy input in the Perkins Library

and other campus buildings. Keeping a room at a stable temperature does not

require the same amount of cooling or heating at all times. For most of the time,

building cooling and heating loads stay at only a percentage of their full capacity.

Variable-speed-drives enable computers to control air flow as needed during the

day to maintain a standard temperature as well as in the evening,when buildings

are generally vacant and call for less energy. Premium efficiency motors are built to

higher standards and convert electrical to mechanical energy more efficiently. The

variable-speed-drive project in Perkins Library cost $40,000 and is expected to

have a 5-1/2-year payback.

Duke’s Energy Team also introduced a regular steam trap maintenance program.

Though not nominally an energy conservation measure,regular steam trap

maintenance can result in the prevention of significant amounts of steam loss.

Steam traps function to separate the steam from condensate and noncondensate

gases. An integral part of every steam distribution system,the traps require

periodic inspection and replacement. Traps often fail in the open position,

releasing raw steam. Losses to a system the size of Duke University’s could run up

to tens of thousands of dollars per year.

During fiscal year 1998-99,Rebuild Duke University Facilities’Energy Team saved

the university almost 10 million kwh of electrical energy,over 42 million pounds of

steam and over 7 million cubic feet of water. Duke is on track to equal these

savings in the current fiscal year. As the Duke partnership continues to expand its

HVAC efficiency upgrades,the university’s energy and water expenses will

continue to drop at an even more impressive rate. The vigilance and expertise of

Duke’s Energy Team provides the key to operating buildings at optimum efficiency.

For more information, contact Bob Friedman of Duke

University’s Facilities Management Department at

bob.friedman@duke.edu. 2

View from DC

By Mark Bailey

The ranks of Rebuild America continue to grow as

more communities awaken to the message that

energy-efficiency improvements are a common-sense

way to make a difference in their communities. To

accommodate partnership needs,the program is

growing in new directions and is taking shape as a

gateway program to other DOE and agency initiatives.

This will enable Rebuild America to provide

partnerships with access to an integrated array of

resources to assist them in pursuing energy-efficiency

and renewable energy initiatives. In one

collaboration,Rebuild America and the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) are expanding two

publications for partnerships titled Financing Energy

Efficiency in Buildings and The ENERGY STAR®

Small Business Guide--Putting Energy Into Profits.

Both should be available by the end of the summer.

Also,a pilot project to integrate EPA’s ENERGY STAR®

small business allies into the Rebuild Long Island

partnership is underway to strengthen the

partnership’s resources and impact.

On the schools front,Rebuild America and its

EnergySmart Schools initiative continue to build

bridges with links to Clean Cities (alternatively fueled

buses);the Million Solar Roofs Initiative (solar

technologies);the State Energy Program (DOE grant

program);and ENERGY STAR® (DOE/EPA building

energy performance program).

School budgets are tight and the need to upgrade

the efficiency and increase the comfort of the

learning environment is great. About 25 percent of

the $6 billion that America’s schools spend each year

on energy could be saved through better design of

new schools and by upgrading existing schools with

energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies.

The task before us is considerable.

I am especially pleased to announce that Daniel

Sze,formerly of DOE’s Office of Field Integration,is

joining me as we double our outreach efforts to

schools and work to position Rebuild America as a

gateway to energy-saving initiatives. Many of you will

have an opportunity to meet Dan as we work to keep

Rebuild America growing in strategic directions.

Mark Bailey is national program manager of

Rebuild America.

Solutions
By Mark Ternes

Encouraging housing authorities to invest

in energy-efficient improvements is now an

easier task thanks to U.S.Department of

Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

incentives. Under HUD guidelines,a

housing authority may retain the energy

savings for work performed under a

performance contract for up to 12 years.

This allows a housing authority to tap into

private sector financing to pay for energy

conservation measures and other capital

improvement projects and frees their

modernization funds for use on non-energyrelated projects.

To get the word out,Rebuild America

teamed with the National Association of

Housing Redevelopment Officials,a

Rebuild America strategic partner,to present

an in-depth performance contracting

workshop in Chicago,May 1-4. The event

was co-hosted by the Illinois HUD Office.

Three Rebuild America Partnerships—

Stark Metropolitan Housing

Authority, Pittsburgh Housing

Authority and Chicago Housing

Authority — joined other housing

authorities,energy services companies and

local HUD staff.

The workshop featured case studies,

exercises and presentations that encouraged

discussion among participants. Steve

Ewing of Stark Metropolitan Housing

Authority presented a case study describing

the authority’s use of an “add-on subsidy”to

finance energy improvements that

addressed how they partnered with local

organizations to assist the project. James

Cavallo of Argonne National Laboratory

gave an overview of Rebuild America and

discussed the benefits of joining the

program.

In May 1999,more than 20 attendees from

10 housing authorities attended a similar

workshop,and five housing authorities have

since initiated performance contracts.

Another workshop is planned for May 2001.

A new initiative between HUD and the

U.S.Department of Energy will continue to

promote performance contracting and

other HUD energy incentives to housing

authorities. The initiative aims to solve

housing authority energy problems using

innovative and novel technologies,financing

arrangements and partnering approaches

that can be replicated nationwide to

successfully implement energy projects

within public and assisted housing.

Rebuild America plays a major role in the

collaborative initiative and has set a goal of

developing 20 to 30 new partnerships with

public housing authorities. Educating these

partnerships about the benefits of

performance contracting and HUD

initiatives will serve to solidify the campaign

in the public housing sector.

For more information about the public

and assisted housing market sector,

contact Mark Ternes at 423-574-0749 or

email ternesmp@ornl.gov.

U.S. Department of Energy

Housing Authorities Explore Performance

Contracting with HUD Incentives

Workshop attendees learn about integrating

performance contracting with HUD incentives.

Students Tackle Energy Efficiency in New Mexico

Rebuild New Mexico is receiving

nearly $200,000 in state funding from the

Youth Conservation Corp.(YCC) to provide

disadvantaged youths with vocational

training in energy efficiency this fall.

Rebuild New Mexico Director Peter

Alexander is organizing a group of 40

students to participate -- 30 from the

Albuquerque area and 10 from the Taos

Pueblo,the ancestral home of the Tiwa

tribe. Youths aged 16 to 25 who are

unemployed,have dropped out of high

school or whose families are on public

assistance will be eligible for participation.

The program will provide students with 90

hours of classroom training and several

months of paid work experience. The focus

will be on assessing opportunities for

energy-efficiency improvements such as

insulation,weatherization and mechanical

systems,as well as methods of remediation.

Passive solar methods such as planting

deciduous trees on the south side of public

buildings to cut summer cooling loads,also

will be included.

"This training will serve as a springboard

to help them become gainfully employed in

the rapidly growing energy-efficiency

sector," Alexander notes. This is the first

time that the YCC has become involved in

energy-efficiency job skills training,he says.

"I am especially pleased because the very

funding of this program is a validation of the

cornerstone beliefs of Rebuild America:

That energy-efficiency can be a driver for

job creation and economic development

while improving the performance of the

buildings we live,study,play and work in."

For more information, contact

Peter Alexander at

cristobl@laplaza.org or phone

505-776-1870. 3

Market Sector
U.S. Department of Energy

In the interests of cultural preservation,

Native American Tribes have been

proponents of community sustainability,

energy efficiency,solar and wind energy and

environmental preservation. For federal

agencies that can offer energy solutions in

support of these ideas,the challenge has

been determining the tribes’energy needs.

On May 16,the U.S.Department of

Energy (DOE) and the Bureau of Indian

Affairs (BIA) offered a one-day forum to

discuss energy issues involving housing,

economic development,energy

entrepreneurship,equitable power

distribution and energy-efficient building

practices. The workshop’s goals were to

listen to and learn from the tribes;to identify

and clarify energy-related needs and

corresponding approaches and solutions;

and to identify the technical and financial

resources available to the tribes.

The event,held at the Yavapai-Apache

reservation in Camp Verde,AZ,attracted

participants from 14 area tribes and

representatives from the U.S.Department of

Commerce (DOC),the U.S.Department of

Agriculture (USDA),the U.S.Department of

Health and Human Services (DHHS),DOE

and BIA.

Bob Gough of the Intertribal Council on

Utility Policy highlighted the pressing

energy issues facing the tribes:using more

affordable energy sources;improving

homes;controlling global climate change

and the depletion of natural resources;and

evaluating the impacts on quality of life,the

environment,tribal health and cultural

resources that stem from how energy is

used.

Assessing Impact

Amy Mignella,attorney for the White

Mountain Apache Tribe,stated the crucial

need for tribal decision makers

to become more familiar with

energy issues and their effect

on the entire reservation and to understand

the importance of juggling energy priorities

with other tribal needs.

O. Roland McCook of the Northern Ute

Tribe felt that initiating small-scale energy

projects would help demonstrate to tribal

members that energy development and

economic development go hand-in-hand.

Themes raised from discussions included

the need for tribes to invest in long-range

planning. One tribal representative pointed

out that historically Native American tribes

have planned seven generations ahead

when considering community changes and

that energy issues should be no different.

The tribes felt that they should evaluate

projects in terms of where the tribe wants

to be;who it needs to build or repair

relationships with to meet its needs;and

what the outcome is worth in terms of

money,time and cultural impact.

Another common theme was a need for

energy efficiency education at all levels – K12 schools,tribal energy employees,policy

makers and the general population.

Agency Assistance

Agency representatives addressed the

services they could provide to the tribes.

DOE offers resources,training,nationwide

connections and access to national labs

through the Rebuild America partnership

network. DOE also offers renewable energy

programs such as Million Solar Roofs and

Wind Powering America.

Assistance offered by other agencies

includes:

• Grants to futher economic

development through DHHS’s

Administration of Native Americans 

• Funding for projects in community

and economic development,housing

and utility service through USDA’s

Rural Development

• Infrastructure and technical assistance

grants to aid in business development

and job creation through DOC’s

Economic Development

Administration

Plans call for a follow-up meeting that will

include tribal leaders,elected officials,nonprofit organizations,Rebuild America

Business Partner representatives and tribes

that have implemented successful energyefficiency programs.

For more information, including notes

of the proceedings and agency contacts,

or to be included on the mailing list for

the follow-up meeting, contact Paul

Johnson at 206-553-2154 or email

paul.johnson@ee.doe.gov.

Opening an Energy Dialogue with SW Tribes

4

Mark Randall of Daystar Consulting

and Sharron Brown of Public

Technology, Inc., pose next to the

photovoltaic (PV) system at the

Yavapai-Apache reservation daycare

center. Before the installation, the

daycare center was often impacted

by lightning-related power outages.

A grant from the Urban Consortium

Task Force enabled the tribe to

install a PV panel at the daycare

center to eliminate this

inconvenience. The tribe plans to

use the structure as a tool to

encourage other energy-efficiency

projects throughout the reservation.
U.S. Department of Energy

The South’s Warmest Welcome

Continued from page 1

A number of Rebuild America communities were among

those honored at the U.S.Conference of Mayors’68th Annual

Conference in Seattle,WA,on June 10. The City Livability

Awards recognize and award mayors for their leadership and

innovation in creating better,more “livable”communities. The

City Livability Program is sponsored by the U.S.Conference of

Mayors and Waste Management,Inc.and focuses on those

exemplary leaders whose work has resulted in the

implementation of pioneering programs that improve the

quality of life for citizens.

Rebuild America communities that received awards were the

City of New Orleans, LA,the City of Toledo,OH (Rebuild

Toledo Energy Collaboration),the City of Stamford, CT,

and the City of Boston,MA (Rebuild Boston Energy

Initiative). Other winners included:Gadsden,AL;Lancaster,

CA;Tacoma,WA;Everett,MA;Euclid,OH;Melrose,MA;Pasadena,

TX;Buffalo,NY;Irving,TX;Pembroke Pines,FL;Tucson,AZ;

Bristol,CT;Hoffman Estates,IL;Farmington,NM;Moore,OK;and

North Adams,MA.

Additionally,the Outstanding Achievement Award was

presented to Mayors Thomas M. Menino of Boston and

Dannel P. Malloy of Stamford. An Honorable Mention went

to Mayor Carleton S. Finkbeiner of Toledo. These visionaries

have demonstrated how proactive leadership can

improve communities.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, left, and Stamford, CT, Mayor Dannel

Malloy receive Outstanding Achievement Awards.

Rebuild America

Communities Among

“Most Livable Cities”

5

reflective roofing. The grand opening of the restaurant is scheduled

for August 2000.

Active on Many Fronts

Since joining Rebuild America in 1998,Rebuild Mississippi has

turned up the heat on their community outreach by developing an

array of marketing materials,including baseball caps,polo shirts and

coasters. Headed by the Mississippi Department of Economic &

Community Development's Energy Division,Rebuild Mississippi's

partners include the Mississippi Main Street Association,Mississippi

Valley Gas Company,Mississippi Downtown Development

Association,Energy Rated Homes and the City of Jackson. The

partnership is also collaborating with Rebuild Alabama to produce

a 5-to-8 minute video to help educate potential partners about

Rebuild America and the type of local assistance available through

both state partnerships.

Rebuild Mississippi is

working with the

North Midtown

Community

Development

Corporation and

Entergy,a local utility,

to plan several

projects in Jackson. In

June 1999,the

partnership kicked off

its work in the city by recognizing Mark J. McCreery,president of

Amerimail Direct,Inc.,for renovating an abandoned,deteriorating

downtown building to house his growing business. The 35-year-old

building received over $300,000 in extensive interior and exterior

improvements,which included an $8,000 grant through the city’s

Facade Matching Grant Program.

The state partnership is also reaching out to its Native American

citizens. In May,Dr.Ousby and Mel Powers,the regional program

representative,met with the Choctaw Indian Tribe to discuss their

joining the Rebuild America family. Discussions centered on possible

energy-efficient improvements to the reservation's 20-plus buildings

to minimize energy expenses and on cogeneration and aggregate

power opportunities.

Known as "The South's Warmest Welcome," Mississippi has

opened its doors to Rebuild America and is actively sharing the

program’s ideals with the state’s communities.

For more information about Rebuild Mississippi or its

partners, contact Dr. Barbara Ousby, Mississippi Dept.of

Economic & Community Development, at 601-359-6600 or

bousby@mississippi.org.

Barbara Ousby, left, with Eddie and Jan Malone
U.S. Department of Energy

Walking the Talk: Energy Efficiency Begins at Home

Call it an occupational hazard. People active in Rebuild America

are continually exposed to cutting edge energy-efficient and

environmentally sensitive approaches to building,and some of them

are taking it to hearth and home. Linda Smith of Rebuild

Colorado,Partnership Development Manager Kirk Bond of

Kansas City,MO,and Mike Glenn of the Utah Office of Energy

Services are three Rebuild America players who have adopted

green practices in the design and construction of their custom

homes.

Smith and Glenn say that their new homes give them a greater

connection to the outdoors. For Bond,whose home is under

construction,the primary motivation was to live in a highperformance,comfortable house that operates at a fourth of the cost

of an average Kansas City home. All three have invested considerable

time and effort in getting the details right to create homes that are

models of comfort and energy-efficiency.

Smith and her husband,Holland,designed and built their passive

solar dream house at a 9,000-foot elevation in the Rockies,just west

of Denver. At this elevation the heating season lasts nine months and

there is no need for air conditioning. Drawing upon energy

engineering principles she learned back in graduate school,Smith

designed the floor plans and performed the energy calculations,

while Holland designed the exterior,coordinated building plans,

cleared the site and handled most of the construction.

Kirk Bond,a third-generation builder,gained a working knowledge

of both solar and advanced technology while working on

demonstration projects years ago with the U.S.Department of

Housing and Urban Development and Kansas City Power & Light.

With their three adult children moving out,Bond and his wife,Sally,

decided to downsize their living space and upgrade home comfort

by building their own “smart home.” They will be able to remotely

control the energy,communications and security systems of their

2,800-square-foot home.

Mike Glenn’s plans to custom build his passive solar home

coincided with the efforts of the Utah Office of Energy Services,

where he works,to raise the standards of energy efficiency in new

homes and with the startup of Utah’s Energy Rated Homes (ERH)

and Energy Efficient Mortgages programs. Completed in April of

1997,the house served as the pilot for Utah’s ERH program and

became the first home in Utah to receive a five-star rating. Since

Glenn’s trail blazing,more than 725 homes in the state have been

rated under the ERH program.

Rocky Mountain Home

The Smith’s house was designed to allow the sun to

enter through south-facing windows.Excess heat is

stored in tile-covered concrete slab flooring that releases

the heat later in the day as temperatures drop. The house uses

perimeter baseboard heating with propane for backup.Despite the

winter temperatures,their propane boiler rarely needs to fire up,

even when their neighbors’chimneys are going full tilt. Theirs is a

“Built Green Colorado”home,a designation that requires

incorporating 38 energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive items

into the design. The Smiths tallied 56 items.

Ultra-quiet bathroom fans on three floors are programmed to

activate 15 minutes each hour to exhaust air,while windows emit

fresh air that is circulated by ceiling fans.Each floor is a separate

heating zone,compact fluorescent lights are installed throughout the

house and appliances are geared to high efficiency.

The Smith’s deck is composed of recycled plastic and wood

shavings and will outlast a wooden deck. The house is superinsulated with R-32 walls (R-21 fiberglass batt with 1-1/2 inches of

exterior insulation) and an R-56 roof with energy heel trusses. An

advanced sealing package helped ensure air-tight construction. The

siding is composed of medium-density fiber board made of scrap

wood and sawdust,which looks like traditional wood siding but

costs less,Smith says.

In their home for a year now,the Smiths are pleased with their

small energy bills – just $500 annually and $35 monthly for

electricity. Smith says she and her husband are enjoying the comfort

of their new home -- along with striking views of Mount Evans and

the Continental Divide.

Urban Home Building

The high-performance Bond home is under construction on a

severe slope that has proved to be a challenge,Bond says. The Bonds

chose the lot for its central Kansas City location and wooded

surroundings. The house features a 1,000-foot deck that’s 20 feet 6 above the ground and at the same level as the tree canopy above a

Linda and Holland Smith and their two dogs pose in back of their newly

built passive solar home.
U.S. Department of Energy

creek. The home’s inverted design features a first-floor master

bedroom suite with a spiral staircase leading to a loft library,a living

room-kitchen-sunroom that opens onto the upper deck,a walkout

basement with a guest bedroom,and an office that accesses the

lower deck.

The house will have three air heating/cooling zones and eight

warm-floor hydronic heating-only zones,which is the key to yearround comfort in Kansas City,Bond says. A closed-loop,groundsource heat pump will supplement a high-efficiency gas hot water

heater for the hydronic floor. Strategically placed ceiling fans and

skylights are designed to work in concert with a power-ventilated

heat recovery system. The house is being built with R-26 rated

structural insulated panels fortified with R-5 urethane foam insulation

and sealed with lap-siding. A cathedral ceiling features heavy-duty R45 insulation. Double,low-E-glazed Pella windows were optimally

positioned for daylighting and to capture the best views.

The front of the house has a southwestern exposure and is shaded

by trees while the back faces northeast. Four skylights in the rear of

the house are positioned to miss direct sun. Two out-of-reach

skylights are equipped with sensors and programmed to close if rain

is detected. A 12-foot-high Palladian window in the sunroom is

oriented to the northeast,allowing light to reach the kitchen and

reducing the need for artificial light.

The Bond house will serve as demo to collect information about

how thermal coupling works with a structural insulated slab with a

hydronic-air heating/cooling combination home. Bond explains that

holes and plastic piping were inserted in the concrete floor to

enable a camera and

other testing equipment

to record what happens

below the slab yearround.

“The down side of

building your own

home is that it takes a

while,especially when

your husband travels a

lot for Rebuild America,

but it will be worth it,”

says Sally Bond. The Bonds plan to move in this fall.

Utah’s first Five-Star Home

Mike Glenn purchased a floor plan and drawings from a local plan

shop and set out to build a 2,550-square-foot energy-efficient house

that included a basement with a finished 1-bedroom apartment. But

Glenn was building more than a house. His was a groundbreaking

Five-Star Energy Rated Home that would set a precedent for

residential energy efficiency in Utah. Glenn’s 20-year background

administering DOE programs for retrofitting homes,schools and

hospitals served him well

during the design and

building process.

Ultimately,he incorporated

40 items on an energyefficiency checklist to bring

his home up to Five-Star

status. In the interests of

saving trees and taking the

edge off the extreme 

summer heat,Glen flip-flopped the building plan.

He selected a contractor with little experience in energy-efficient

design who was interested in learning and open to Glenn’s hands-on

participation in implementing energy-efficiency measures. Glenn

tackled a number of the installations himself,including the

ventilation duct work,energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures,the

indirect fluorescent lighting system,and the insulation of hot water

piping and tanks and the headers on the exterior walls. Glenn

selected cellulose insulation to more efficiently fill wall cavities and

exterior foam sheathing for additional wall insulation.

He says his “favorite”upgrade was the low-E windows that

experience only a fraction of the heat loss that occurs with standard

windows. His house has an abundance of windows and no need for

artificial light during the day.

Using information from the Sustainable by Design website

(www.sustainabledesign.com),Glenn calculated an angle for a

skylight that allows light and heat from winter sun to enter the

interior while higher-angled summer sun is blocked out. The skylight

is opened after hot summer days to release warm air and pull in 

cool evening air.

Specific energy and other “green”upgrades installed by the

contractor cost $6,200. Glenn installed an additional $775 in

measures.

Glenn reports that his total electricity and gas bill including the

basement apartment averages $37 per month. He has also saved

with an energy-efficient mortgage that included a $500 reduction in

closing fees. In the wake of his trailblazing,an increasing number of

Utah builders and contractors are adopting energy-efficient building

practices. And an increasing number of homeowners are

experiencing the comfort,energy savings and satisfaction that comes

with living in an efficiently designed home.

Efficient,passive solar homes don’t make everyone happy,Linda

Smith has learned. Case in point is the propane delivery driver who

announced “I hate your house!”when he found the Smith’s tank still

full while their neighbors’were empty.

For more information, contact Linda Smith at

linda.smith2@state.co.us;Kirk Bond at

kirk.bond@pnl.gov;or Mike Glenn at

mglenn@dced.state.ut.us. 7

The back of the Bond house (under

construction), oriented to the northeast,

features a sunroom that allows light to reach

the kitchen and four skylights positioned to

miss direct sun.

Mike Glenn’s house was the first Five-Star

Energy Rated Home in Utah.
U.S. Department of Energy

In an unprecedented move,the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

bestowed the ENERGY STAR® label for buildings upon nine school

districts across the country. DOE Assistant Secretary Dan Reicher,

along with EPA Deputy Director Michael McCabe,announced the

awards at the 11th Annual Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington,

DC,on June 14.

The label is given to buildings that perform in the top 25 percent

of their peer group. The nine districts to earn the designation are:San

Diego Unified School District (CA);Academy School District 20 and

Boulder Valley Public Schools (CO);New Haven Public Schools (CT);

Kansas City Public Schools (KS);Columbia Public Schools (MO);

McAllen Independent School District (TX);Milwaukee Public Schools

(WI);and Marion Public Schools (WV). These districts represent 150

individual schools that have achieved the ENERGY STAR® label.

“Looking back to your school days,you may remember that

teachers rewarded the best students with gold stars,”Reicher told the

audience,“The ENERGY STAR® label for buildings is our [DOE’s and

EPA’s] way of rewarding buildings that have been successful in their

energy-efficiency efforts.”

U.S.schools offer a unique opportunity for energy savings. The

average school was built in 1960 and spends more money on energy

than it does on textbooks and computers. Within the next 10 years,

the nation will require 5,000 new schools to accommodate

enrollments and more than 6,000 schools will need substantial

repairs to continue being useful. Energy-efficient retrofits of these

older buildings improve the learning environment for students,

provide an opportunity to educate a generation of students about

energy efficiency and allow wasted funds to be redirected to 

other needs.

Rebuild America’s EnergySmart Schools Initiative motivates schools

to use energy wisely and provides training workshops,publications

and access to a broad network of private and public sector partners

for assistance. As part of a Rebuild America partnership,schools and

school districts benefit from a network of DOE resources,including

technical support and financing programs.

For more information about the ENERGY STAR® label 

for buildings, visit the EPA web site at www.epa.gov/

buildings/label. For more information about Rebuild 

America’s EnergySmart Schools Initiative, visit

www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools.

School Districts Make the Grade

DOE Assistant Secretary Dan Reicher and EPA Deputy Director Michael

McCabe display the ENERGY STAR® label for buildings plaque, which will

be affixed to award-winning schools.

Unanswered Lighting Questions?

The Basics of Efficient Lighting booklet,co-produced

by Rebuild America and business partner Lithonia

Lighting,has been flying off the shelves since its release

in April.

The booklet was unveiled at the 250th Rebuild America

Partnership Celebration in Austin,TX,by a representative

from Lithonia Lighting. A copy was sent to

each Rebuild America partnership along

with the March-April edition of Partner

Update. A useful tool for partnerships and

reps alike,the booklet outlines energy-efficient

lighting,from explanations of high-benefit

lighting and lighting types to what questions to

ask a lighting contractor,and includes a list of

helpful web sites.

Download the booklet from the toolbox

section of the Rebuild America web site at

www.eren.doe.gov/ buildings/ rebuild or 

call 1-800-DOE-3732. 8
U.S. Department of Energy

Workbench

Saving Money: As Easy as 

Changing a Light Bulb

By Kathi Ruiz

Q: How can a home owner,

business operator or energyefficiency program make a sizable

impact on the environment without

spending a lot of money? 

A: Change a light bulb.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) have

been a responsible alternative to

incandescent lighting for years,but many of

these first generation bulbs had drawbacks,

such as their large size,humming noise and

prohibitive cost – and a cool color that

consumers rejected in favor of a warmer

hue. In 1998,the U.S.Department of

Energy (DOE) decided to address these

problems by encouraging the development

of smaller,high-performance CFLs.

Manufacturers have responded by offering

a new generation of bulbs,called

subcompact fluorescent lamps (sub-CFLs).

These bulbs are nearly as small as the

incandescent lamps they are intended to

replace. Best of all,they are bright,noisefree and affordable.

Sub-CFLs last up to 10 times longer and

use only one-fourth to one-third as much

energy as incandescent lights. Though

more expensive than incandescent bulbs,a 

sub-CFL can pay for itself in energy savings

within six months in high-use applications.

A typical household can spend $55 a year

for five 75-watt bulbs burning an average of

five hours a day,while 15-watt sub-CFL

replacements cost only $15 for the same

usage. Switching one incandescent bulb to

a sub-CFL can keep up to half a ton of

carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere over

the lifetime of the bulb.

You can buy sub-CFLs through the DOE

program for as low as $4.95 per lamp

(including shipping and handling) with a

minimum purchase requirement of six or

10 lamps. Products carry a one-year

warranty. Vendors currently participating

in the sub-CFL program are JKRL USA,

SunPark Electronics Corporation,

Surya/PMI and Lights of America. All lamps

can easily fit in most conventional fixtures,

with lengths ranging from 4.56 to 5.8

inches. Over a million sub-CFLs have been

sold since the program’s inception,with

more than 35 percent of total sales going

to energy-efficiency programs maintained

by utilities.

Although the program was designed to

serve volume buyers -- building owners,

utilities,universities,public housing

authorities,hotels and federal agencies --

any individual may buy the sub-CFLs at 

the reduced program prices. Additional

ordering information,a list of suppliers,

prices and a savings calculator can be

found at:www.pnl.gov/cfl.

Kathi Ruiz, project coordinator on the

sub-CFL program for Pacific Northwest

National Laboratory, can be

reached at Kathi.Ruiz@

pnl.gov or 503-417-7551.

Celina Oliver, a Portland, OR, homeowner,

discovers that a sub-CFL easily replaces an

incandescent bulb. 

9

Upcoming Events 

August

Aug. 21-23 - You Have the Power

Energy-Efficiency Workshop and Expo,

Pittsburgh, PA (David L. Lawrence

Convention Center). Visit

www.energy2000.ee.doe.gov.

September

Sept. 10-12 - International Public Works

Congress and Exposition, Louisville, KY

(Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center).

Visit www.apwa.net.

Sept. 24-27 - NACORE International

Annual Symposium and Exposition, Las

Vegas, NV (Bally’s Paris). Visit

www.nacore.com.

Sept. 30-Oct. 3 - CEFPI's National

Meeting Orlando, FL (Disney’s Coronado

Springs Resort). Organizational focus is

on planning, designing, equipping and

maintaining school buildings. Contact

Barbara Worth at 840-391-0841.

October

Oct. 5-7 - The Natural Step Fifth Annual

Conference on Sustainability, Atlanta,

GA. Visit www.naturalstep.org or

contact Nicole Whiting at 415-561-3344.

Oct. 19-20 - Profiting From Deregulation,

Power Techniques for Power Purchasing

Seminar, Dallas, TX. Visit

www.energywiz.com or call 

877-NRG-GURU. 

Oct. 29-31 - 2000 NAHRO National

Conference and Exhibition, Phoenix, AZ.

Contact Jill Quaid at 202-289-3500 or

visit www.nahro.org.
U.S. Department of Energy

Sherman, one of Rebuild Boston’s leaders. Sherman is part of a

triumvirate that leads Rebuild Boston. Joining him are energy

consultants John Manning and John Snell. All three are with the

Peregrine Energy Group.

The partnership’s goal is to make energy and water efficiency,

balanced with the need to maintain comfortable,healthy and

sustainable environments,a routine practice in construction,

rehabilitation,operations and maintenance activities. To reach this

goal,each of its leaders tend to specialize in one or two initiatives:

Sherman’s focus is on economic development and mixed-income

redevelopment;Snell’s area of concentration is public housing and

indoor air quality;and Manning collaborates with utilities and other

players involved in the design and assessment of energy-efficiency

programs. They backstop one another with complementary roles

and a mutually supportive work style,says Sherman.

NEEC’s involvement in several Massachusetts gas and electric

utility energy-efficiency collaboratives has helped the partnership

make important contacts. Boston Edison and Boston Gas joined

with NEEC early on as Rebuild Boston partners to help design

economic development programs for distressed neighborhoods.

This gave the partnership some guidance in achieving its goals.

Rebuild Boston then began developing linkages with programs

such as Main Streets Boston,which is operated by the Boston Office

of Business Development. Main Streets had established relationships

with the same business owners the utility programs were targeting.

With the help of Rebuild Boston,utility energy-efficiency services

became a readily available resource for Main Streets participants and

Manning notes that by the end of 1999,more than 70 Main Streets

Boston projects included utility-funded energy-efficiency

components.

Partnering with BHA

Studies show that energy and water costs

typically consume about 22 percent of a

public housing authority’s budget. To mitigate

these costs,Rebuild Boston and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA)

have made long-term commitments to upgrade the energy efficiency

of more than 15,000 apartments under the auspices of the BHA.

Over the past four years,they have developed a viable performance

contracting mechanism and the capacity to implement these

improvements. The more than $17 million in performance contracts

currently underway will generate more than $27 million in savings

over 10 years,according to Snell. Further improvements will also

address indoor air quality for improved health and resident comfort.

Rebuild Boston is also involved in efforts to provide rehabilitated

housing and new affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income

families. The partnership works with private and tenant 

co-developers to ensure that energy-efficiency measures are not

eliminated in the redevelopment process,according to Sherman. So

far,Rebuild Boston has helped facilitate energy-efficiency upgrades 

in more than 600 low- and moderate-income housing units.

Early Intervention

The partnership also assisted the Boston Department of

Neighborhood Development (DND) in revising its standard housing

plans to conform to the lion’s share of the ENERGY STAR®

specifications. Rebuild Boston and DND are now working on a list

of projects to target during the next two years to promote early

intervention in project design.

“It’s relatively easy to get individual energy-efficiency projects

completed,especially where Rebuild Boston can provide a lot of

ongoing support and attention to ensure project success,”Sherman

says. “It is a great deal more difficult to move to the point where a

sponsoring agency or business incorporates energy efficiency as a

basic feature of its activities,particularly if there is no continuing

monetary or technical support or ‘cheerleading’from the outside.”

Rebuild Boston has evolved into a series of sub-partnerships

organized around substantive areas such as public housing,

affordable housing,economic development,indoor air quality and

housing rehabilitation.

“There is a natural progression from concerns like improving

energy efficiency in the apartments of low-income people to

beginning to deal with pervasive problems related to poor indoor air

quality like the extremely high incidence of asthma and other

respiratory diseases,”Snell says.

Rebuild Boston continues to emphasize community economic

development in the enterprise zones and hopes to be part of the

first large-scale retail development in the Roxbury neighborhood in

more than a generation. The partnership is also about to begin to

develop several new partnerships in other parts of the state through

a grant from DOE’s State Energy Program Special Projects in

cooperation with the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources.

For more information, contact Mike Sherman at

msherman@peregrinegroup.com or 617-367-6144.

Rebuild Boston Pushes for Better City Housing

Continued from page 1

10

Rebuild Boston partners pose at Noah’s Ark mural. Front row from left:

Kate Bennett, Boston Housing Authority; Jean Cummiskey, PhD,

Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources; and Caitriona Cooke,

Conservation Services Group. Back row: Bruce Johnson, Energy

Management; Harold Raymond, Design & Development Consultants; John

Dalzell, Boston Office of Business Development; John J. Parisi, Jr., Honeywell

DMC Services; and Charles Wheeler, NORESCO.
U.S. Department of Energy

By Allie Smith and James Cavallo

Since the 1930s,the Fallon PaiuteShoshone tribes have lived in a quiet

community amid farms and ranches near

the town of Fallon,NV. Most homes on

the reservation were built nearly 40 years

ago with U.S.Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD) funds and

according to their specifications.

Nearly 200 HUD homes on the

reservation are in need of rehabilitation,

which provides an optimal opportunity

for reducing energy consumption. Saving

energy is critical,as propane prices have

increased by nearly 50 percent in recent

months. To mitigate these concerns,the

tribal council has teamed with Allie

Smith,the Nevada state Rebuild America

representative,to form a Rebuild America

partnership to address energy-efficiency

opportunities in housing and community

buildings on the reservation.

Field Training

The Fallon tribes hosted a workshop

June 6-7 that integrated both health and

energy issues and drew 22 participants.

Topics addressed included moisture in

crawlspaces,elevated radon levels,and

asbestos in ceilings and wallboard,while

discussions outlined renewable energy

sources and opportunities for using

environmentally sustainable materials in

renovation projects. Hands-on field

training focused on auditing methods and

diagnostic tools,featuring blower door,

crawlspace inspection and energy rating

software demonstrations. The event

succeeded in demonstrating how proper

rehabilitation results in healthy housing

while reducing energy use.

For more information about Rebuild

Nevada or the event, contact Allie

Smith at 702-895-0539 or email

rebuildnevada@hotmail.com.

Nevada Tribe Takes Hands-On

Approach to Energy Issues

Paul Knight shows homeowner Sue Keller-Lynch her home’s efficiency readings following a 

blower door test.

Greg Andrews

is Team Leader

of DOE’s

Atlanta

Regional Office.

Vital Statistics:

Resides in

Mableton,GA,with his wife,Darlene;15-yearold son,Ryan,who consumes mass quantities

of food and resources;and one dog,Max,an

English Cocker Spaniel. Daughter Chene is

20-something,married and lives nearby.

Most rewarding aspect of your work: 

Seeing the positive and lasting impact that a

successful project can have on a community.

Your greatest Rebuild America challenge: 

Helping an organization take plans and turn

them into projects.

How you like to spend your spare time:

Fishing.

Something you haven’t tried but think you’d

be good at: Golf.I watched Tiger Woods at

the U.S.Open.How hard could it be?

A book or film you recommend:

Film: The Green Mile

Book: The Ecology of Commerce by Paul

Hawkins ($25 reward to anyone who actually

finished it)

Where you’d live, if you could live

anywhere in the world:

Part year residence – St.Simons Island,GA

(because it features the two great building

blocks of human existence – fishing and

beer);San Francisco,CA (it’s everything a great

city should be);Lake Victoria,East Africa (the

world’s most perfect sunrise).

11

Snapshot
Rebuild America is a network of community

partnerships – made up of local governments

and businesses – that save money by saving

energy. These voluntary partnerships, working

with the U.S. Department of Energy, choose the

best ways to improve the energy efficiency of

commercial, government and apartment

buildings. Rebuild America supports them

with business and technical tools and 

customized assistance.

By the year 2003, Rebuild America 

partnerships will be involved in over 

2 billion square feet of building renovations,

which will save $650 million every year in

energy costs, generate $3 billion in private

community investment, create 26,000 new

private sector jobs, and reduce air pollution by

1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Rebuild America 

Office of Building Technology,

State and Community Programs

U.S.Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue,SW

Washington,DC 20585-0121

Address Correction Requested

Rebuild America Welcomes 

4 New Partnerships

Hector Public Schools, Hector, AR

Solar San Antonio, Inc., San Antonio, TX 

Alamo Community College District, San Antonio, TX

Educational Energy Managers

Association of Florida, Winter Spring, FL

Share Your Success

To submit news or story ideas, contact: 

• Elise G. Rand, 202-466-7391, or e-mail

erand@pcgpr.com

• Anita Denning, 301-588-9387, or e-mail

adenning@drintl.com

To be placed on the mailing list for Rebuild America

Partner Update, e-mail rebuildamerica@drintl.com.

Total Number of

Partnerships...........................

Total Square Feet Committed 

For Retrofit.............................

Number of States and 

Territories with Partnerships......

287

476

51

million 

sq.ft.

Check us out: www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/rebuild or 1-800-DOE-3732

MARCH 2001

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Mark your Calendar! 

Announcing the Fourth 

Rebuild America Forum 

March 13-16, 2001

Westin Peachtree Plaza, 

Atlanta, GA