Weatherization and energy efficiency in New York, explained
An in-house way to fight climate change and energy insecurity, which someone in your neighborhood is probably experiencing right now.
What is energy insecurity, after all?
The concept means basically a hidden burden that consists of the inability to pay for household energy and housing conditions not suited for different kinds of extreme weather, whether it is cold or hot. Research suggests that when suffering from this, people also face environmental, health and social consequences. According to The Energy Action Project, more than half of the world´s population are experiencing this kind of hardship in some form right now, and 16 million are living in the United States. Last year, the Harlem Heat project reported that 140 new Yorkers die every year because of issues related to overheating issues.
There are different consequences of suffering this kind of insecurity. It can be said that energy insecurity can be observed in what expert and researcher from Columbia University Diana Hernandez calls its three dimensions: the economical, the physical and the behavioral. There are the typical health concerns derived from the lack of adequate temperature inside a household, whether it is enough heating in winter or enough cooling in the summer. But according to research, there are also other byproducts related to this kind of insecurity such as mental issues (a study suggests that the inability to make the utility bills has an effect in depression and anxiety disorder in low-income households) and the loss of social network and institutional ties, which in the end comes at a significant cost in terms of social capital.
One of the researches conducted at The Bronx has found significant quotes about how people coup with these kind of issues: “My dogs couldn’t sleep, they would shiver… I mean literally, I had to put clothes in there, I gave them the heater, I put the heater for my dogs. And my wife was sleeping in a sweater like this, hoodied up, sweatpants, socks… she can’t stand it and it really affects her. And, it was a rough winter here.’
While some laws focused on tenant harassment are about to be passed by the City, the resources for addressing the lack of resources to improve housing conditions in terms of energy have been insufficient and sometimes they have even faced cuts. “Public funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program has never been sufficient to serve more than a small minority of income-eligible households,” said Deborah Frank, also a researcher in the field. Dana Boreland, who works in these issues at the JPB Foundation, takes the issue even further: “The energy system, the way it is designed, impacts disproportionately the people.”
As it always happens with all things related to policy, we tend to think about a straightforward solution: easing the bills burden for the people in need should fix the issue, right? But take this just as an example of the complexity: there are households in which bills are not a problem, such as the New York City Housing Authority low-income projects. Sometimes, energy insecurity manifests itself in the upfront costs that a household has to face in order to access to adequate conditions, which according to Hernandez happens “a lot” in NYCHA housing.
And it is key to see it as a way much more complex issue: as poor insulation, less efficient heating systems and drafty windows are also part of the equation frequently.
This also has an effect in the chances that low-income households have of facing their utility bills. This quote also obtained by the researchers at The Bronx pictures the situation pretty accurately: “When I do the level billing at the end of the year, there’s always a large amount that I have to pay. So then I always have to tell them, you know, I can’t pay it all. It’s always in the thousands. So even though the level billing is great, because I’m fixed on one thing… at the end of the year that’s when the stress level comes.”
“Weatherization” is the most common way to call one of the most frequent solutions that can be implemented in households contending with high energy costs and/or poor thermal comfort derived from weak structural conditions and energy inefficiencies at their homes. It is frequently the first step to take towards alleviating the energy insecurity issues that a household can face.
Experts such as Douglas Phillips (who worked with Hernandez on a research project based in effects of the energy efficiency efforts in New York City) say that weatherization interventions are often considered “low-hanging fruit” not only in terms of easy and effective ways to addressing deficiencies at home but also in terms of climate change strategies with a broader impact than just the household´s situation.
Programs such as the Weatherization Assistance Program which works at The Bronx and Queens helps these households to reduce their energy use and costs by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. This program is administered by the New York State Homes and Community Renewal and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. It also receives funds from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But how do you “weatherize”?
There are several areas in which this process can operate. To know them before taking any measures allows to identify the main issue and choose the approach that can be used.
First, there are the heating efficiency measures, designed to improve the operation of the heating system. In old, low-income buildings, the popular boiler is one of the main issues because the lack of maintenance and cleaning of the unit often can cause it to malfunction or even reduce his durability. The distribution systems are also another critical area of the heating system, and frequently one that needs improvements in this kind of units. Proper functioning of these systems also prevents horrible events such as the recent deaths of two girls in a homeless shelter unit at The Bronx.
Then there are also the conduction measures and the infiltration measures. Basically, the latter have to do more with how a house can keep the cold air outside the unit and the warm air inside, and the former are focused on reducing the conduction of the heat from the interior to the exterior of the unit.
Usually, an adequate maintenance to prior weatherization installations has to be conducted, and there are also measures basically designed to reduce health and safety hazards inside units that regularly incur in urgent measures such as having an oven turned on throughout a whole day, just to keep the place warm.
The City government offers some help for at least starting the process. After a retrofitting plan that was a priority for the Obama administration at a national level, New York City is already working with 4,000 buildings on energy efficiency efforts. The city wants to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2005 levels by 2050.
Which other measures can be taken?
Mostly all the researchers agree that weatherization should be considered just the first step. Further policy should address the financial aspect of this burden and also the way it can be solved among different kinds of dynamics between homeowners or landlords and tenants. According to Hernandez and Phillips here´s a gap regarding the kind of attention should be given to policies and regulations regarding indoor temperature standards. New York State and City law establishes that rental apartments must be kept at a minimum of 68 °F between 6am and 10pm if the outdoor temperature falls below 55 °F, and a minimum of 55 °F indoors between 10 pm and 6 am if the outdoor temperature falls below 40 °F. The researchers suggest that this allows landlords to keep their tenants apartments at temperatures well below what is considered the ideal indoor temperatures for thermal comfort of 68–74 °F.
If policy makers were to increase or remove the outdoor temperature guidelines by which landlords must provide heat for rental apartments, this could improve thermal comfort and also reduce the need to use the oven or stove for heat, a typical way to coup with cold temperatures in the winter. Since the new law to prevent tenant harassment took years of protests, the first thing that the energy insecurity advocates need is a critical mass to push further legislation.
The “what can I do?” angle
After you read this, chances are that you think that little of this has to do with your day-to-day life. But in fact, energy waste is a huge part of the issue (energy is not an infinite resource, so that translates into higher bills) and there´s still lots of things that can be done to keep improving the situation. Keep in mind that a 2015 research found that New York City is the most wasteful megacity in the world in terms of the per capita energy consumption.
For example, just in 2013, the International Energy Agency published that the 14 billion connected devices all over the world (such as TVs, game consoles or tablets) accounted for $ 80 billion of wasted energy, just because of using the “sleep” feature. By 2020, experts estimate that 50 billion of these devices are going to be in use. And about that energy efficient refrigerator you just bought? Probably the electric motor inside it is sub-optimal in terms of energy waste.
Beyond efficiency inside a house, NYC neighbors should already consider solar energy as an increasingly accessible way to make their homes better in terms of energy consumption. NY-Sun, a state initiative for stimulating solar energy adoption, is trying to push an initiative to increase the access to solar energy in an 800%. And since many buildings in the city are not suited for having solar panels, New York building owners can subscribe to “shared solar” systems that provide access to a portion of grids that can provide at least a way to avoid less efficient ways to keep their homes functioning.
