On Monday evening, Jim Logan, Principal at Jim Logan Architects and David Neiger, Principal at Populus, discussed the energy efficiency opportunities and challenges presented by Boulder’s existing buildings with members of PLAN Boulder County.  The panelist of experts also included Ruth McHeyser, Director of the City of Boulder’s Department of Planning and Building Services and Yael Gichon, Staff member of the City of Boulder’s Environmental Affairs Department.  While the topic of the event focused on Residential and Commercial Energy Conservation Ordinances (“RECO” and “CECO”), the panelists addressed a variety of ideas to increase the efficiency of Boulder’s residential and commercial buildings.

Logan and Neiger Address Energy Efficiency of Existing Buildings

According to Yael Gichon and Ruth McHeyser at the City of Boulder, initial proposals to address residential energy efficiency will likely take the form of new efficiency requirements tied to rental permit applications, but will not include a broad-based Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance.  Based on the progress made by the City of Boulder so far, it is likely that the energy efficiency measures could be considered by City Council by the end of the year.  On the commercial front, the City of Boulder is still in an initial information-gathering phase.

The City of Boulder is expected to announce upcoming opportunities for public comment regarding residential energy conservation measures.  We’ll keep you updated of any developments through the Populus blog.

Populus is a Boulder-based, full-service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus is your partner in high-performance design solutions, specializing in energy efficiency codes, green building certifications and LEED for Homes™ training.  Contact Populus at news@popboulder.com.

Tags: City of Boulder, Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance, Residential Energy Efficiency

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 10:51 am and is filed under Boulder Climate Action Plan, Energy Conservation, Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.