Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee – Robert Orvis – 2013

Goals

HACM brought on Robert Orvis to investigate the efficacy of its existing sustainability initiatives, and to uncover new savings of energy and money.

Solutions

Orvis developed statistical models to evaluate how cost-effective past energy efficiency investments have been at the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM). His results indicate that together these projects, including energy efficient lighting, aerators, efficient hot water heaters and energy recovery units, save more than $315,000 every year and have saved more than $1.3 million to date. All told, these projects are estimated to avoid more than 1,500 metric tons of carbon every year, about the same as removing 328 cars from the road. Orvis also identified potential energy savings of more than 1.5 million kilowatt hours and 59,000 therms per year from installing an energy management system, conducting retro commissioning and adjusting the temperature supply curves for heating boilers in HACM’s high-rises.

Potential Impact

If implemented, Orvis’s projects could reduce operating costs by more than $1.4 million and avoid more than 2,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year.