Saving energy in multi-family buildingsis a comparatively easy task to accomplish intheory: engineering science has shown us howto reduce heatloss and air infiltration, howto balance systems and improve heating plantefficiency, and how to capture warmth from theair, the earth and the sea. But getting thisknowledge into multi-family buildings and makingthem energy efficient in fact is very difficult,especially if those buildings house low-incomeand elderly tenants, the people for whom savingenergy is most urgent.Energy practitioners have found that multifamilybuilding owners are not buying energyefficiency because it is not being marketed intelligently;affordable financing is very difficultto obtain, and energy education tailored to theneeds of owners, occupants and maintenance crewsis practically unknown. This paper discusseshow four non-profit energy companies, locatedin major cities, overcame these obstacles. Itexplains how they market energy conservationimprovements, how they finance them, and howthey involve tenants in energy education; i.e.,how they make energy efficiency happen in multifamilybuildings.
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