Greenbelt Homes Pilot Program: Summary of Building Envelope Retrofits, Planned HVAC Equipment Upgrades, and Energy Savings

In fall 2010, Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) a 1,566-home cooperative of circa 1930-1940 homes in Greenbelt, Maryland, undertook a multiyear pilot energy efficiency retrofit project. GHI established this pilot project as a basis for decision making for the rollout of a decade-long community-wide upgrade program that will incorporate energy-efficiency improvements to the building envelopes and mechanical equipment. The community upgrade is fully funded by the cooperative through its membership with no outside subsidies. This project thus presents a unique opportunity to evaluate and prioritize the wide range of benefits of high-performance retrofits based on member experience with and acceptance of the retrofit measures implemented during the pilot project. Addressing the complex interactions between benefits, tradeoffs, construction methods, project management implications, realistic upfront costs, financing, and other considerations provides a case study for energy retrofit projects to include high-performance technologies based on the long-term value to the homeowner.

2010年秋季，位于马里兰州格林贝尔特市的格林贝尔特住宅公司（Greenbelt Homes, Inc., GHI）启动了一项为期多年的节能改造试点项目。该合作社运营1566套住宅，其住宅大多建于1930至1940年代。该公司将此试点项目作为决策依据，以推进一项为期十年的全社区升级计划，该计划将对建筑围护结构（building envelope）与机械设备开展节能改造。本次全社区升级项目的资金全部由合作社通过会员自筹，无任何外部补贴。因此，本项目提供了独特的研究契机：可基于社区成员对试点阶段所实施改造措施的使用体验与接受度，对高性能改造的各类效益进行评估并确定优先级。本项目通过剖析效益、权衡取舍、施工方法、项目管理相关影响、实际前期成本、融资及其他各类因素间的复杂交互关系，可为节能改造项目提供基于住宅所有者长期价值的高性能技术应用案例参考。