Granite Trails Apartments: Major Renovation With Major Energy SavingsGranite Trails Apartment Complex in Maplewood needed a facelift. The new managing owner of the LLC, Dennis Homel, decided that energy efficiency should be a part of the overall effort in addition to major cosmetic changes throughout the complex.

He heard about Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy’s joint Multi-Family Building Efficiency program, which offers incentives for choosing more energy-efficient equipment. It’s designed specifically for multi-family apartment buildings like his.

“A lot of the items that qualified for rebates were on my list, so it made sense to purchase high-efficiency models,” Homel says.

Why it works“Multi-family buildings have a high potential for energy savings,” explains Yvonne Pfeifer, Xcel Energy program manager. “We can find energy efficiencies in both the common areas and individual apartments, so there’s a lot that can be done to save energy. This program provides a one-stop solution.”

Participants get a free, whole-building energy audit to determine the best approach to energy savings and incentive potential. A single point of contact helps the customer create a streamlined path to efficiencies through the entire process—all the way to the incentive payment. They also receive free installation of energy-efficiency measures that will result in immediate energy savings.

A tiered approach offers three levels of incentive based on the savings that can be achieved by energy-efficiency improvements. A building needs to achieve a minimum of 15-percent

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We put $4 million into rehabbing this property so we want it to run efficiently and minimize problems, maintenance and additional capital improvements. This program fit the bill perfectly.”

– Dennis Homel, managing owner, Granite Trails Apartment Complex

Financial snapshotEstimated combined energy savings (gas and electric)

18-19% per building

Incentive received $37,000

Percentage of energy efficiency project cost covered by incentive

25%

© 2018 Xcel Energy | 18-01-111© 2018 CenterPoint Energy

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energy savings to earn a 25-percent incentive. The middle level is a 20-percent savings for a 35-percent incentive, and the top level of savings is 25 percent for a 40-percent incentive.

Granite Trails consists of three buildings and 109 apartments. Homel had opportunities of more than 15-percent whole-building energy savings in each building, making him eligible to receive an incentive of 25 percent of the related energy efficiency project cost.

“The benefits for the customer are lower bills by energy saved throughout the life of the equipment and increased residential comfort,” says Pfeifer.

“We put $4 million into rehabbing this property so we want it to run efficiently and minimize problems, maintenance and additional capital improvements. This program fit the bill perfectly,” Homel says.

Three buildings for triple the savings The work began with the installation of two new energy-efficient boilers in each of the three buildings, all of which are automated for remote operation. Homel opted to keep his old boilers as a back-up and had them tuned-up to optimize their performance, safety and efficiency. He also installed new energy-efficient water heaters and hot water pipe insulation in the boiler room and on exposed hot water piping throughout the complex.

Inside all of the complex’s 109 apartments, Xcel Energy replaced interior lights with energy-efficient bulbs as part of the program. To further reduce waste, they installed energy-efficient faucet aerators and showerheads in all of the apartments.

Homel then opted to upgrade hallway and exterior lighting to LEDs.

Smaller yet still significant measures included insulating gaps around the interior of the windows to reduce drafts and improve the overall building envelope insulation values. They also installed covers on air conditioner sleeves in each apartment to improve the seal and reduce the infiltration rate of air around the AC during the winter. This measure will reduce natural gas energy consumption associated with heating individual units and provide a more comfortable living space for the residents.

In the common areas, all of the main entry doors and sidelights were replaced to keep conditioned air inside the building. Occupancy sensors in the boiler rooms, storage locker rooms, laundry rooms and stairwells for each building will automatically shut the lights off when not in use.

In all, the energy-efficient measures earned Granite Trails $37,000 in incentives and will achieve roughly 18-percent savings per building. Those are savings that will continue over the lifetime of the equipment.

“We are already experiencing lower bills from these improvements,” Homel added. “And we’ll see reduced cost in maintenance which also affects our bottom line.”

Project highlightsGranite Trails implemented the following energy efficiency measures:

• Installed 6 new energy efficient boilers (2 per building) and 3 water heaters.

• Installed pipe insulation.

• Insulated gaps around the interior of the windows.

• Installed covers on all 109 through-the-wall air conditioners.

• Replaced entry doors and sidelights.

• Installed occupancy sensors in boiler rooms, storage locker rooms, laundry rooms and stairwells.

• Received free, energy-saving installations in each apartment, including:

– Energy-efficient lighting in the common areas and residential units.

– Energy-efficient showerheads.

– Energy-efficient kitchen and bath faucet aerators.