HomeMy WebLinkAbout6 Senior Housing Agenda Item # 6
. • I AM
Memorandum
To: Board of Directors
From: Peter Holzmeister
Date: March 12, 2004
Subject: Electric bills at senior citizen housing complex
Why this matter is before the board: Scott and I would like to give the board a
quick update on Scott's discussions with customers at the senior citizens housing
complex.
History: You will recall that a group of senior citizens attended a recent board
meeting and expressed concern over their electric bills. Scott has been busy
meeting with them and reviewing their individual circumstances. We would like
to share with the directors what Scott's findings are up to this point.
New information: Scott will present information at the workshop and he will be
able to make suggestions that would, if implemented, significantly resolve the
problem.
High Sierra Senior Citizens Center
UNIT OCCUPANT 1 LR BSBD WT H ICEIL IN #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HEAD FLOR SOLAR BILL OTHER
Al Carol DeLarosa No No 3 Yes
A2 Lillian Perkins No yeS Yes Yes No Yes No 2 170
3 Yes No Yes No Yes ENo
1 177
A3 Alfred Kenngott No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No No 1 157
A4 Shirley Barney No Yes 2 Yes No Yes Yes Yes 0 164 02
A5 Clay Wagner 2
A6 Jane Kerberg No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No Yes 0 1779
106
A7 Bri'gt Weiszhar No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No No 1 69
A8 Inga Ambrus 2
A9 Lucy Greene Yes No 3 No yes yes No 0 111
A10 Jeannie No No R-11 3Yes No Yes 1 180
UYes No Yes —No 1 22-4
NIT OCCUPANT LR BSBD WT HT CEIL INS #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HD FOR SOLAR —BILL OTHER
B11 Reta Milton No Yes 3 No Yes Yes No Yes No 3 180
B12 Cyndy Dufresne No No 3 Yes Yes Yes No No No 1 186
B13 Bill Brenegar 2
B14 Ignacio Cortez 2 1 165
615 lanche William No Yes 2 No 0 160
B16 TD Senior Ctr Yes Yes No Yes No 1 136
B17 Susan Stamps Yes 2 0 126
2 1 117
B18 Evelyn Smallwd No 2
619 Edna Delight Yes Yes R-11 3 0 147
620 Lorne Robinson No No NO Yes Yes No N Yes -10 No 1 146
Yes No Yes �N
o
No
UNIT OCCUPANT LR BSBD WT HT CEIL IN #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HD FLOR SOOAR BILL OT 243 OHER
C21 Edna Lamppert 3
C22 Judith Forman 3 1 174
C23 Philip Martin Yes Yes 2 No Yes Yes No No No 0 207
C24 ndrew Lipnosk No Yes 2 No Yes Yes No Yes No 0 131
C25 MariAnn Hoehn 2
C26 Sal Marsala Yes Yes 2 No Yes Yes No Yes Yes 0 110
C27 Owen Worrell 2
C28 Linda Pearson 2 1 165
C29 Ellen Solli No Yes 3 No Yes Yes No Yes No 2 17$
C30 Art 8 Wally No Yes 3 No Yes Yes No No Yes 1 210
UNIT OCCUPANT LR BSBD WT HT CEIL INS #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HD FLOR SOLAR BILL OTHER
D31 Maria Av ila 3
D32 Sandra Hayes 3 1 170
D33 Lois Haworth 2 0 58
D34 Barb Patterson Yes Yes 2 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 0 163 02
D35 PatMincey No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No Yes No 1 105
D36 TO Senior Ctr Yes Yes 2 No Yes Yes No No No 0 52
D37 Douglas Hart 2
D38 Bob Allen No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No No No 0 119
D39 Robin Badorek 3
D40 Joyce Scribner 3 1 155
UNIT OCCUPANT LR BSBD WT HT CEIL IN #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HD FLOR SOLAR BILL OTHER
E41 Elma Medford 3
E42 Susan Clevel'nd No Yes 3 Yes No Yes No Yes No 1 g2
E43 Thelma Albert 2
E44 Jeffrey Young 2 0 81
E45 Lester O'Neil No Yes 2 No Yes Yes No No No 0 43
E46 Irene Hahn No Yes 2 Yes No Yes No E47 Ruth Longee 2 No No 1 156
E48 Denise Dorris No Yes 2 Yes Yes Yes 0 137
E49 Joan Zam No Yes Yes 1 139
3 1 236
E50 Deb Von Aue Yes Yes 3 No Yes Yes No No No 2 166 Dim
UNIT OCCUPANT LR BSBD WT HT CEIL INS #WINS STRM WIN L-WINS L-FRT DR STRM DR S-HD FLOR SOLAR BILL OTHER
F51 Kellie Grimes 3
F52 Donald Young 3 0 g7
F53 Jean Patrick No Yes 2 No Yes Yes No No No 0 166
F54 Stella Mackey No Yes 2 No Yes Yes No Yes No 1 157
F55 Sally Pritchard No Yes 2 No Yes Yes No Yes No 0 128
F56 Sharon D'berry No Yes 2 No Yes F57 Romayne S as No Yes No 1 5
mith 2 02
F58 TD Senior Ctr 2 0 120
F59 Dorothy Gaines No No 3 Yes No 1 31
F60 Ruth Cramer No Yes NO No No No 2 140 GO
3 No Yes Yes No Yes No 1 126 Cold LR
Truckee Senior Center Apartments
Energy Issues/Areas of Improvement
Building Design/Layout Issues
Summer Design to Reduce Cooling Req's
Building/Windows Orientation/Solar Gain 42/144
Multi-family w/North-facing Units
Apartment Units w/2-3 Exterior Walls(Esp. End Units)
Windows Quantity 2-3 Large & Small Windows(Esp. End Units)
In-Building Features
Baseboards/Wall Heater w.o./Thermostat Control
Ceiling Insulation — Currently R-11/4 Inches to R-38/12 Inches
Windows Replacement to Vinyl frames/Storm Windows
Storm Doors- Ext. Glass Door/Need Good Fit
Entry Door Weatherization/Need Good Fit
Fixtures
Appliances- Refrig./Oven/Microwave- All O.K.
Water Heater & Piping- Good Exc/Pipe Ins.
Low-Flow Showerheads- O.K.
Incandescent to Energy-Efficient Fluorescent Lighting
Other
Life-Support Equipment- 02
Wheelchair Charger
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March 16, 2004
To: Board of Directors
From: Scott Terrell
Subject: Senior Center Apartments Energy Use
After spending considerable hours visiting the Seniors at the Truckee High Sierra Senior
Center and going through the data collected I believe the following issues have been
primary in the amount of energy used by Seniors in their apartment units:
Life Support Equipment- Seniors requiring Oxygen life support/Equipment are paying
about $50 per month for the use of this equipment. The current equipment provides its
own oxygenation whereas the company used to do the oxygenation and just bring by the
oxygen containers about every week or two. If the Seniors could go back to just getting
the tanks there might be some cost savings there since the same company has to
make frequent visits anyway to those oxygen dependent Seniors.
Thermostat Control- The baseboard heaters and new wall heaters in the Senior's
apartments have temperature controls, but they are not able to pick a select temperature.
If there is a way to retrofit a thermostat control to the heaters it would ensure that
the Seniors do not "overheat" their apartment units. Currently they are just turning
the heaters knobs up until the apartments get very comfortable. There is a 34% energy
savings for every one degree lower a thermostat is set on a heater(s).
Attic Insulation- There currently is only about 4 inches of insulation in the apartment's
attics. The State's Energy Commission requires all new construction to go to a R-38 or
about 12 inches of insulation. At least 8 more inches of blown-in cellulose insulation
should be added to all the attic spaces over the Senior's apartments.
Solar Gain- Each Senior's apartment contains either two or three large windows. Some of
the Senior's apartment windows are oriented to pick up the sun's heat during a clear day
and some have windows that are not oriented to pick up the sun or they are shaded by an
overhang, tree or another object. Solar gain can help substantially to reduce a Senior's
heating bills. You cannot change a window's orientation at this point,but there may be a
few situations where a shading object may be eliminated.
Window Quantity- Each Senior's apartment contains either two or three windows. The
windows can be of great benefit if they are letting the suns heat in during the day. At
night they are a detriment as windows allow a lot of heat to leave a building. Buildings
with two versus three windows are generally better off in terms of having lower heating
costs. There are some remedies to reduce window area heat loss.
s
Windows Retrofit- The windows in the Senior's apartments are all double-pane with
aluminum frames. These were standard windows back in the 70s,but they are not nearly
as energy-efficient as windows available today. The primary problem is that not only do
the aluminum window frames lose heat rapidly, but they are also leaky and allow heat to
escape and cold air to get into the apartments.
Ideally, all the window would be replaced with double-pane window systems with
vinyl frames. An alternative to this is installing storm windows. The best storm
window system I have seen is one that was installed by Nevada County in unit#59. It is
installed within the window frame and not on the outside. It is a good, quality storm
window with a good seal between the window frame and the sill. It also acts as a slider
that can be slid open to get to the other window to open for fresh air.
Storm Door-All the Senior's apartments have a glass door leading to their patio. Since
the doors are glass they lose more heat than a wood door. One solution would be to
place storm doors to add an extra layer of insulation to the glass door. Another
solution would be to replace the doors with new high efficiency"windowed" doors
or just replace them with a "windowless" solid core door. The doors also are fairly_
leaky and need new weatherstripping on them. In some cases the doors do not fit
well and may require either a new door frame or a new door anyway.
Entry Door- Most of the Senior's entry doors are leaky either due to the need for
better weatherstripping or the need for a better fitting door within the door frame.
Water Heater- Each Senior's apartment has its own water heater. They are placed in a
closet outside the apartment by their entry door in a hallway. Many of the water heaters
are newer and have adequate insulation built-into them. All the older water heaters are
wrapped with a water heater jacket. Most of the water heaters have pipe insulation on the
copper hot water line leaving the tank,but the pipe insulation is generally falling off.
Each water heater ought to be inspected and have the pipe insulated properly
installed for longevity.
Showerhead- probably all the showers were installed with low-flow showerheads at one
time. Most of the units still are equipped with low-flow showerheads, but some were
removed. Most of the showerheads were probably removed out of preference by the
Senior. Many require the hand-held types as the have to shower sitting down.I would
offer each Senior without a low-flow showerhead the option of having one installed.
Lights- Most of the Seniors still have incandescent lighting in their light fixtures either
out of choice or otherwise. Some of the Seniors are using high energy-efficiency
fluorescents. Where ever the Seniors are willing to have their incandescent lights
replaced with fluorescents they ought to be changed out.