Chicago skyline becomes more energy efficient

The Chicago skyline may be one of the most impressive in the USA but it is rapidly becoming one of the most energy efficient.

As part of the Retrofit Chicago Commercials Program to reduce their energy consumption by 20 per cent over five years, participating buildings have already cut energy usage by 7 per cent in less than two years, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Those savings lead to significant positive impacts, including $2.5m in annual avoided energy costs and the elimination of over 28,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

“Chicago is probably America’s most architecturally aware city, so it is no surprise that the skyline is taking the lead in fighting climate change and giving us more resilient infrastructure,” said NRDC Midwest director Henry Henderson. “Energy efficiency efforts are helping to turn the works of Daniel Burnham and Mies Van der Rohe into the best looking tool we have to push back on global warming. As our report makes clear, the Retrofit Chicago Commercial Business Initiative is making a huge impact. The results should be the envy of every town in America.”

Program participant buildings range in age from three to 125 years old and include cultural institutions, tourist attractions, hotels, university facilities and some of the city’s most iconic office towers. To achieve those goals, buildings get access to incentives and technical expertise from an array of experts.

Given the diversity of buildings, a wide array of tools were put into participating buildings to spur energy reductions, including a shift to more efficient lighting, revamped heating and cooling systems tied to motion detectors, upgraded ventilation systems and HVAC motors, as well as direct work with tenants to improve efficiency in their office spaces. Chicago’s energy efficiency efforts will be further bolstered by the City’s participation in the City Energy Project, an initiative from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Institute for Market Transformation that is designed to create healthier, more prosperous cities by targeting their largest source of energy use and climate pollution: buildings. The following 10 cities will be CEP’s first participants: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City

As energy efficiency efforts take center stage in the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions, the Initiative gives Chicago and the State of Illinois a head start in meeting those goals. The NRDC report outlines key lessons from the programme and is designed to help other municipalities garner similar results to those being driven by Chicago’s initiative.