Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles – Lillian Cheng – 2013

Goals

Lillian Cheng was tasked with finding energy savings for a major housing authority.

Solutions

Cheng benchmarked the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles’ (HACLA) utility usage to gain a better understanding of the energy and water consumption profile. Cheng’s analysis could save HACLA over 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity, over ten million gallons of water and avoid approximately 700 metric tons of carbon emissions on an annual basis. She developed several retrofit projects, including a replacement of the current 400 watt high pressure sodium outdoor area lights with LED fixtures, the installation of aerators on gymnasium and community center faucets, a replacement of over 2,000 residential toilets from standard-flow to low-flow tank toilets and a public announcement campaign to encourage residents to conserve water. Cheng also researched energy efficiency financing mechanisms, with particular focus on performance contracts, providing HACLA with the information, tools and case studies necessary to move forward with the recommended efficiency upgrades.

Potential Impact

HACLA could save approximately $500,000 in annual operating costs and more than $3 million in net operating costs over the lifetime of the projects.