Comments on: Treehugger: Make Buildings Behave Better http://sustainableflatbush.org/2007/05/14/treehugger-make-buildings-behave-better/ Promoting sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood. Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:09:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: anne http://sustainableflatbush.org/2007/05/14/treehugger-make-buildings-behave-better/comment-page-1/#comment-17 anne Mon, 14 May 2007 22:46:22 +0000 http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=42#comment-17 exactly xris. this topic is one of my passions... in fact it kind of got me started down the whole sustainability path. (see earlier post on this topic here http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=12.) i really feel that energy-efficiency retrofitting of older buildings is a huge potential source of "low-hanging fruit" for Bloomberg's PlaNYC initiative. the retrofits are not that costly (in the larger scheme of things), they'll reduce strain on the electrical grid and demand for more power plants, and lower emissions at the same time. the problem is that even with a relatively quick payback time, a lot of building owners and co-op/condo boards don't know about retrofit technologies and/or can't afford the initial expense. NYC needs a serious plan to provide substantial tax credits and interest free loans to green our older buildings. exactly xris. this topic is one of my passions… in fact it kind of got me started down the whole sustainability path. (see earlier post on this topic here http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=12.)

i really feel that energy-efficiency retrofitting of older buildings is a huge potential source of “low-hanging fruit” for Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative. the retrofits are not that costly (in the larger scheme of things), they’ll reduce strain on the electrical grid and demand for more power plants, and lower emissions at the same time. the problem is that even with a relatively quick payback time, a lot of building owners and co-op/condo boards don’t know about retrofit technologies and/or can’t afford the initial expense.

NYC needs a serious plan to provide substantial tax credits and interest free loans to green our older buildings.

]]> By: Xris (Flatbush Gardener) http://sustainableflatbush.org/2007/05/14/treehugger-make-buildings-behave-better/comment-page-1/#comment-16 Xris (Flatbush Gardener) Mon, 14 May 2007 17:49:28 +0000 http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=42#comment-16 And preservation and adaptation of existing buildings is more resource-efficient and sustainable than teardown and buildup. There's more than environmental sustainability at stake. There's economic, cultural, and social sustainability as well. For example, adapting old(er) buildings requires skilled workers and craftspeople familiar with the local stock, creating and developing local job opportunities in a neighborhood micro-economy. Green building folks also have to pay more attention to - and reward - the embodied energy of existing buildings, and the energy - and waste - associated with destroying old buildings and building new ones. It's not just about annual operating costs. We need to consider the entire life-cycle of a building - from the death of the old to the death of the new - to compile a complete budget of a building's impact. And preservation and adaptation of existing buildings is more resource-efficient and sustainable than teardown and buildup. There’s more than environmental sustainability at stake. There’s economic, cultural, and social sustainability as well. For example, adapting old(er) buildings requires skilled workers and craftspeople familiar with the local stock, creating and developing local job opportunities in a neighborhood micro-economy.

Green building folks also have to pay more attention to – and reward – the embodied energy of existing buildings, and the energy – and waste – associated with destroying old buildings and building new ones. It’s not just about annual operating costs. We need to consider the entire life-cycle of a building – from the death of the old to the death of the new – to compile a complete budget of a building’s impact.

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