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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-17-2017 Item 1, Haggardr4 m I CLIMATE ACTION SHOULD BE A MAJOR SLO CITY PRIORITY SLO could become the best example in the state of a creative, proactive response to climate change. This is because of the manageable scale of our city, its very advantageous location, our benign climate and microclimates, and a well educated, motivated citizenry. Besides the most obvious need of modifying energy production, to be most effective we need a comprehensive approach to the multiple and often subtle requirements of becoming a climate friendly city. A comprehensive approach would address the hard (technical) realm of ENERGY PRODUCTION but also the softer (more cultural) realm of RESOURCE USE, and the hybrid realm where the SCALE OF PRODUCTION AND USE together can provide greater efficiency. In other words, we need to integrate our technical capabilities with our culturally derived bias regarding use, and the nature of the scale of applications. An example of the last part of this production, use and scale triad is building conditioning by passive design, natural lighting, and direct use of building integrated photovoltaic devices. To be really effective one approach can't fit all situations for our complex situation. The use side of this triad is still the least developed and therefore the most challenging because it deals with cultural and behavioral perceptions which are difficult to change. How we produce Eriagy energy Production Pmdual ■ DS5A5`'O�fAi10N 50CIP� Energy 1Fse Use use energy _ Fig.1.g. Energy production and energy use must both Fig.1.1o. Social disassociation between operate with a minimum of waste to achieve efficiency. production and use. Most people have no idea where the energy they use comes from or how low the efficiency of use is. ikUse Production Efficiency Fig. 1.11. Passive designintegra- tion. In passive design use, produc- tion and efficiency are integrated on-site. As an architect I have specific suggestions regarding our built environment and buildings to be considered as well as community resource aggregation and other purely production oriented approaches. 1. We should encourage south orientation of our building stock. This is complicated because most of SLO's street pattern is off of the cardinal directions by 52 degrees. Nevertheless, facing south allows easier direct solar heating in the spring and winter, easier solar control for cooling in the fall and summer, and easier day lighting. The advantages of proper orientation are far greater than most people realize. 2. We should encourage the capability of allowing night ventilation for our building stock. This would allow us to take advantage of our relatively cool evenings to naturally air-condition our buildings. This can be especially effective if we can get some thermal mass into our buildings to allow our collected night coolth to override the heat gain of the next day. Thermally massive building was a common situation in our early history because of the use of adobe and brick but is not traditional with more modern construction techniques. However there have been recent developments in building materials that allow us to get thermal mass inexpensively into modern buildings. Night ventilation has been neglected by the current title 24 energy regulations which is unfortunate because cooling is such a dominant thermal load for much of California. Use in regard to perceptions of privacy and safety become a critical factor here, illustrating once again the importance of the sociological considerations. 3. We need to develop guidelines for carbon costs and carbon sequestration capability for building materials used for our building stock. Recent studies of the carbon cost of construction done in the Bay Area (Tota) Carbon Study by the Ecological Building Network) indicate that material usage is a larger factor than previously assumed. Thus the retrofit of older buildings becomes very important. 4. We need to encourage the retrofit of our older buildings to zero energy buildings. As indicated in item 3 above, retrofitting of older buildings gives us more climate clout for the effort. This is because of the high carbon cost of building material - particularly concrete, aluminum and glass. Another advantage many older buildings have is an inclusion of high mass building materials like brick or concrete block which are essentially already paid for in regard to carbon cost. Recycling of building materials also takes on new importance with this knowledge. This is why the retrofitting of the old Grange Hall on South broad St. once completed, could make it the most climate friendly building in the city at very little expense. We need to encourage and support our local materials recyclers as part of our climate action. 5. We need to maximize use of natural lighting in our building stock. This is important because the substantial energy savings using this approach has a very rapid payback due to proven productivity gains by the use of natural lighting. We have a large building stock of relatively low height building in which natural lighting retrofits through the roof can be highly effective at very little cost. If we could get more examples of naturally lit buildings similar to the Tribune Building on lower Higuera, this could encourage broader applications. Perhaps we could start with city hall. As a two story building, retrofitting it for natural lighting should be relatively inexpensive, the payback could be quick, and the city would show by proactive example rather than regulation. 6. We need to encourage more efficiency and thought in all night lighting in the city and its environs. Night lighting of billboards for example, contradicts the use aesthetic we should be developing for a climate friendly city. 7. We need to encourage more intelligent use of our building stock. Recent patterns like open doors in commercial establishment regardless of the weather conditions needs more regulation or better yet some education regarding the climatic cost of such wasteful behavior. The best designed title 24 building operated with all its doors open to the exterior during open hours is contradictory and self defeating. 8. We should encourage electric cars and other electric applications to transportation. Even if totally connected to the electric grid, efficiency of electric powered transportation is way above gasoline climatically speaking, besides reducing on site pollution and noise. Perhaps the city can move to electric police cars again as a proactive example. Ken Haggard SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY ene r ........... Energy Efficient Business Program Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Luis Obispo County Energy Watch and Staples Energy have collaborated to help PG&E's commercial customers realize immediate and long-term energy savings. Reducing energy paves the way to lower operating costs and a better profit margin. Participating business customers will receive the following reports: • Assessment of their savings opportunities • Recommendations for energy efficiency equipment • Estimate of the energy and money that could be saved by having the equipment installed • Instant Payback Analysis _�_+c 1'1-1 1 SroA San Luis Obispo County Energy Watch is a joint program of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the County of San Luis Obispo and participating municipalities. 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"PG&E" refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation. © 2015 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved,