|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
1001 South Broad Street, Ste. 202, New Orleans, LA 70125 Phone: 504-208-9761 Fax: 504-208-9768
|
|||||||||||
|
The Doing It Column Hibernia Bank Invests in Energy Savings… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Build Energy Efficiently by Alice Eichold, Architect In this climate, air conditioning and heating can account for over half of a household’s annual power bill. Therefore, anyone planning to build will want a few guidelines for energy efficient construction. A well sealed energy efficient house is quieter, cleaner, less drafty, and has a higher resale value. Landscaping should be used to shade walls, windows, and air conditioning condensers. The use of native plants and ground covers minimizes watering and pest control. Paving should be minimized and should not direct rainwater off-site. Proper site planning includes saving and planting shade trees, particularly deciduous (annually drop their leaves) ones on the east, south, or west sides of the house. All large areas of glass should face north and south. Ideally, a house should have a long east-west axis with a minimum of windows on these sides. Porches and other shade structures are great. At least half of the glass area should be on the south side for winter heat gain. Roof overhangs on all sides help to shade high summer sun. Buildings should have simple shapes to minimize exterior surface. All major rooms should be cross-ventilated. Morning rooms stay cooler on the west side and afternoon rooms on the east. Locate air conditioning equipment and ducts in conditioned space. Put water heaters in unconditioned spaces. Avoid fireplaces. For this climate, slabs on grade are the most energy-efficient foundations. Seal all penetrations and use plants to shade the edges of the slab. Seal the sill plate. Ideally, the exterior walls should contain 2X6 wood studs on 24-inch centers with fiberglass batt insulation. Do not compress the insulation with electrical wires, etc. Seal all joints well and use ecologically friendly materials. Apply light-colored exterior finishes. Energy-efficient windows and doors are shaded, have reduced transmittance glass of minimal area, are well sealed and provide maximum ventilation options. Although expensive, insulated glass might be worth exploring. For roofs, ceilings, and attics, seal all penetrations. Install light colored shingles and roofs, use continuous soffit vents at eaves and ridge vents at all peaks. Insulate the attic thoroughly and include a radiant barrier. Choose an energy efficient air handling system of the proper size. Use a multispeed blower and create separate zones. Programmable thermostats can save energy, along with exhaust fans in the kitchens and baths. Ceiling fans throughout the whole house are another boon to energy efficiency. Choose and efficient water heater and insulate all hot water pipes. But energy efficient appliances and, if feasible, place the washer and dryer in an unconditioned space. Plan efficient lighting. Install water saving showerheads and toilets. These guidelines paint the picture in very broad strokes. Each case is unique and has advantages as well as disadvantages. Money spent on energy efficient construction not only decreases monthly fuel bills, but also increases a home's value, and costs less over the course of a mortgage period (as a slightly higher note) then would the ever increasing bill on wasted energy. *Taken from Bright Ideas Jan*Feb*Mar 1993 issue* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christmas in October The Alliance organized an energy/money-saving service for the second year in the successful "Christmas in October" program, a project of the Preservation Resource Center. Twenty-four Alliance volunteers went to each of the 42 homes of needy and elderly persons on October 9th and 16th and replaced 60 watt outdoor light bulbs with 15 watt compact fluorescent lamps that give the same amount of light and last 13 times longer. Alliance members also wrapped water heaters with an insulating blanket, replaced wasteful showerheads with modern energy saving water heads that save hundreds of gallons of water annually, and reset water heater thermostats. "The owners were very excited about these changes," said Alliance Executive Director Gary Groesch, "especially after we explained how much money they will save and that they will have more light, and hot water longer." An informal survey of the 40 houses that Alliance members did last year for "Christmas in October" discovered that many people saw decreases in their monthly bill of $5 per month. "There is more than just the dollar issue," said Alliance President Karen Wimpelburg, "often people will not have light on their porches because the bulb will have burnt out months ago. Our fluorescents last so much longer that they should feel safer--and the good thing is you don't have to replace them for several years. This is good for elderly owners who have trouble climbing ladders to reach high outside lights." "The Alliance is very proud to add its elbow grease and expertise along with the thousands of other volunteers from local businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and banks," said Wimpelburg. "We salute the hardy souls who have participated longer. They looked like they were having such fun that we just had to get involved. A unique advantage for the Alliance is the privilege of visiting all the "Christmas" homes. It allows us to see first hand the enormity of the gift that "Christmas in October" gives to the city." *Taken from Bright Ideas Winter 1994 issue* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upgrade Your Fluorescents Are your light fixtures energy efficient? Probably not, at least compared to what they could be. Take a typical fluorescent light fixture installed a decade ago. It contains four 40-watt four-foot tubes powered by two magnetic core ballasts. The fixture consumes a total of 75 watts and at best is providing about 40 lumens of poor quality light per watt. If the inside surfaces and diffuser are dirty or yellowed, light output will be significantly worse. In any event, you could be doing much better. Here's how: Fluorescent tubes are now available that provide a much higher quality light and run more efficiently. These tubes are coated on the inside with specially selected rare earth "tristumulus" phosphors that yield light that is more precisely tuned to what the eye can discern. The result is very high color rendering characteristics and better vision. Triphosphor tubes are available in standard diameter "T-12" tubes. The price of these may be two to four times higher. However, the narrower "T-8" tube has now become the lamp of choice. It is inexpensive, rated at only 32 watts, and renders high quality light. Its smaller diameter results in an optical advantage that allows more light to get out of the fixture. And because T-8 lamps use less wattage, they operate cooler inside of closed fixtures, thus increasing performance. To take advantage of T-8 lamps, the ballasts must be changed to those specified for T-8 lamps. A key part in upgrading your fixtures is replacing the magnetic core-coil ballasts with solid-state electronic ballasts. Unlike conventional ballasts, which alternate at 60 cycles per second, electronic ballasts operate at over 20,000 cycles per second. This higher frequency increases lamp efficacy by 10-15% and completely eliminates hum and flicker. Electronic ballasts also waste less power internally. Although 4-foot T-8 lamps are rated at 32 watts, when used with a T-8 electronic ballast, the actual input wattage is only 26 to 29 watts. By comparison, a standard 40-watt T-12 lamp driven by a magnetic ballast consumes between 48 and 57 watts. Electronic T-8 ballasts are available to drive two-four lamps. Another important strategy for improving the efficiency of your fluorescent luminaire is to install specular (mirror-like) imaging reflectors. This upgrade can be very effective when combined with lamp and ballast retrofits, because it saves energy by reducing the number of lamps required. Specular reflectors are highly reflective, precisely folded metal sheets that are installed behind the fluorescent tubes. They are shaped to maximize the amount of light that gets out of the fixture while also redirecting more light downward. When retrofitted into four lamp fixtures, one or two lamps are generally removed. This provides another optical advantage, because less light will be blocked inside the fixture by unneeded lamps. In new fixtures, specular reflectors and removal of two lamps increases luminaire efficiency from 65% to between 73 and 85%. In older luminaires, the increase is even greater. Properly combining fluorescent retrofit measures will greatly decrease lighting cost while increasing lighting quality. To demonstrate how dramatic the effect is: retrofitting your existing four lamp luminaires as described above with one T-8 electronic ballast, two T-8 lamps, and a specular reflector can reduce energy consumption from 175 watts to 62 watts while maintaining or improving light output and saving you money! *Taken from Bright Ideas July*Aug*Sept 1994 issue* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hibernia Bank Invests in Energy Savings Hibernia Bank downtown has been a symbol of "lighting up for New Orleans" since 1920, but it is modernizing that tradition. Erected in an age of grand bank architecture, the main bank building on Carondelet Street has the classical Roman appearance that projects an image of graceful solidarity rather than profligate opulence. It is the kind of space that reassures the investor, large or small. Hanging high above depositors' counters and tellers' cages, reflected in the polished marble floors, three huge triple-tiered circular chandeliers illuminate the grand banking lobby with over 250 light bulbs. For building superintendent Merle Monroe, maintaining the illumination of the chandeliers was a real ordeal. A crew of two was dispatched weekly to change burned out bulbs. They used a high ladder, which was hauled up from the basement, a time consuming, precarious, and costly operation. Servicing these three fixtures alone cost the bank about $4,500 annually in electric bills. Last February, Monroe decided to try something different. He dispatched his crew to replace the 60-watt bulbs in the banking and elevator lobbies with 17-watt decorative compact fluorescent light globes. Using one quarter of the energy, the new bulbs are expected to last 10,000 hours and give approximately the same luminance as the incandescents. Of course, the ladder has remained in the basement. The appearance is great. While the fixtures maintain their look and the change is unnoticed by most customers, one main lobby banking official observed that lighting levels had actually improved. Monroe has affected other energy efficient changes. Ninety percent of the incandescent bulbs in the 23-story building have been replaced with high efficiency bulbs. Some of the standard fluorescent fixtures have been retrofitted with electronic ballasts and T-8 tubes that are thinner and more efficient. As part of their energy efficiency restructuring, the air-conditioning system operation was streamlined. Hibernia's July utility bill for the downtown location was more than $10,000 below budget. Monroe admits that there are many more savings that could be available through a comprehensive program to retrofit the fluorescent fixtures on every floor. Hibernia has begun making energy efficiency improvements at other locations as well. Virtually every incandescent that can be has been replaced with a compact fluorescent bulb. The more efficient electronic ballast T-8 fluorescent fixtures are specified for all new construction and renovations and are replacing old fixtures in many existing locations. The bank's 8 story office building on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans which operates 24 hours will be completely upgraded over the next year. At one location in Jefferson Parish, the bank removed half of the 84 fluorescent fixtures in the lobby while increasing lighting quality through improvements in the remaining fixtures. As in the main branch, southern regional property manager Steve Hebert noted, "part of the success is when people don't notice." Air-conditioning units with SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating of 12 or higher are being installed wherever units need replacing. The bank was spurred to upgrade their air-conditioning and motors because of rebates offered through Entergy New Orleans Inc. Unfortunately the New Orleans City Council had suspended that program. While the approach had been largely on a piece-meal basis, Hibernia hopes to eventually make all of its branches more energy efficient. "I doubt there is anything we are going to invest our money in that will get us a better return," Monroe said. *Taken from Bright Ideas December 1996 issue* |
 |
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Our Story |
||||||||||||
