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These past couples of months has proven that "grassroot" advocacy in the Commonwealth of Virginia can really make a difference and as organizations such as Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) continue to turn the heat up on Governor Kaine and the General Assembly, we are left considering how can we do our fair share to reduce our own energy consumption and combat global warming.

Some of my clients are turning to Energy Service Companies (ESCO's) as a way to inventory their "green house gas emissions' and to determine their "carbon footprint". By having energy audits prepared and sophisticated building energy simulations conducted, many are finding that their are a whole range of practices that can be put in place to reduce the utility bills. Already most facility managers have gone after the "low hanging fruit" and have implemented lighting retrofits, added occupancy sensors, upgraded building systems such as installing variable speed drives and more efficient HVAC equipment....but now they are turning their focus on improving the performance of their building envelopes.

Installing a high performing "greenroof assembly" on a building might just be the most effective way to reduce energy after other interior upgrades are performed. Some field studies that have been conducted have shown that on single story buildings that have installed greenroofs that the property owners have reduced their HVAC consumption by as much as 25%. Because their are a lot of variables that go into determining how much money could be saved it is best to work directly with a design professional to conduct those complex modeling studies. If you would like we could recommend a number of extremely competent companies who are currently performing these tests.

So, while greenroofs are an expensive tool to increase building performance we are left considering what some of our other options are. Is continuing down the current path of energy generation and consumption even one of those options?  We don't think so and neither do some other Virginia residents who oppose the coal-fired power plant proposed by Dominion Power for Wise County. I hope that you enjoy this video segment and would certainly welcome any comments or thoughts on this topic.

http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/blog/?p=298