Energy Efficiency Design Assistance As Offered Through City Planning, Zoning and Permitting Departments: Experience from the City of Oakland

摘要

The City of Oakland rolled out a new program concept for program year 2001. The Energy Efficiency Design Assistance (EEDA) Program provided free customized energy efficiency design assistance to property owners, developers, and designers involved with new construction or renovation/retrofit of existing buildings. Early intervention is achieved by making contact with development teams through the City's Planning and Zoning Department. The program targeted the commercial, industrial and multifamily sectors, although a few "gut" rehab and retrofit projects were also addressed. The program was developed as a third party initiative and the contract for services included a performance incentive for the EEDA implementation team. There was tremendous interest and a very high rate of participation in our program because of skyrocketing utility rates in 2001. Although final results are not yet in, so far the program has provided assistance for over 20 developments in Oakland. Identified savings have been conservatively estimated at over 4,000,000 kWh and 50,000 therms annually. The savings are net of the new, more stringent Title 24 requirements rolled out this year. The paper will focus on presenting the effectiveness of the approach and lessons learned, as observed by the EEDA technical lead and project manager. These will include a discussion of market barriers encountered during the process and how they were addressed. Special attention is given to problems encountered from the multifamily residential sector where market forces are driving many developers to install electric resistance heating in new apartments and condominiums.