San Francisco Housing Authority

With funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the SFHA and Ameresco will perform a $12.5-million upgrade to windows and plumbing in the Ping Yuen housing complex in Chinatown, part of a series of improvements that will yield $60 million in energy savings.

Chicago Housing Authority

Under an energy savings performance contract (ESPC), Ameresco provided heating upgrades, water-conservation systems and 10,000 refrigerators that helped the CHA save $4 million annually on energy costs. Ameresco also helped the CSA meet its goal of 50% participation by Section 3 and minority and women-owned businesses.

Boston Housing Authority

A combination of 17 energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, along with a resident education program, will yield $4.8 million in energy and water savings for the BHA during the first year, and ongoing reductions of 37% in water use, 36% in natural gas use and 4% in electrical use.

The improvement of public housing energy use has become a top priority of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 offering new opportunities for public housing agencies (PHAs) and multi-family housing facilities to implement, finance and track energy efficiency improvements. With rising utility costs, approximately 65% of U.S. public housing units built before 1970, and almost half of U.S. public housing in the second-coldest climate zone in the country, improving public housing energy efficiency presents significant challenges.

Ameresco’s Housing Group focuses exclusively on publicly assisted multi-family housing facilities of 50 apartments or more, which includes more than 14 million U.S. households. By leveraging performance contracting, a practice pioneered by Ameresco to address the $4 billion that HUD spends on public housing energy bills each year, we significantly reduce utility costs using a performance-oriented approach that strategically addresses equipment and systems, energy management and resident education.

With more than 30 years of experience, Ameresco’s public housing energy specialists have implemented performance contracts with project capital exceeding $418 million, more than any other North American energy services company in this sector. We have improved 99,548 households (and counting) under performance-based energy and water services contracts.

Watch the SFHA Video

Watch the BHA Video