The Greening of Greenburgh
by Benjamin Marks

Greenburgh has set out to be a model community, one that employs green development, an approach that benefits or has minimal negative impacts to the local and larger environment, uses resources efficiently, and is sensitive to the existing local culture and community. Green development minimizes pollution and develops for maximum human and ecosystem health - in short, designing for the environment. Green building refers to the process of designing and constructing buildings in ways that minimize their negative ecological impacts. This includes concern for the ecological accounting, or full life cycle impacts of buildings, beginning with the acquisition of resources and materials, transportation, processing and manufacture, distribution, installation and use, maintenance and repair, and ultimately, disposal. A green building ensures energy efficiency, material and resource efficiency, and a healthy, safe indoor environment for its occupants.

Last month, the Town of Greenburgh, working with the Pace Energy Project, took the first important step in its pursuit of environmental excellence by passing a new law which mandates energy efficient construction of new residential homes according to Energy Star ® guidelines. Features of an Energy Star ® labeled home include: improved insulation; advanced windows to improve the thermal performance of homes; tightly-sealed ducts to reduce leakage; high-efficiency heating and cooling (HVAC) equipment that is right-sized for the home; and finally, reduced air infiltration combined with proper ventilation to lower energy bills and also improves the quality of the indoor air. Energy Star ® labeled appliances and consumer products are used.

New Local Law

Greenburgh's law provides that no building permit shall issue for new one or two family dwellings or multi-family dwellings of three stories or less unless the applicant certifies that the dwelling will meet New York Energy Star® Labeled Home guidelines. This ensures that the dwellings will use considerably less energy than if built to prevailing building standards.

Homes built pursuant to New York Energy Star® Labeled Home guidelines typically use 30% less energy for heating, cooling and water heating than those built to the 1993 Model Energy Code guidelines.

Since retrofitting existing buildings to save energy is far more expensive than complying with New York Energy Star® Labeled Home guidelines at the time of initial construction, mandating compliance with these guidelines will avoid significant lost opportunities to save energy.

Costs To Builder

Energy Star® labeled homes do not have to increase the cost of home construction. Once the builders are educated about the efficiency of Energy Star® products, such as an HVAC system, they will understand why they can install smaller units that are properly fitted to the home at no cost or a lower cost than the standard (often oversized) HVAC systems. In some instances there may be a small cost increase, but the attractiveness of the Energy Star® program for builders is that marketing incentives exist to offset the additional costs of construction according to Energy Star® guidelines.

Costs to Homeowner

Based on a 2-story, 2,000 sq. ft. home with basement, central AC, and oil boiler used for space heating and water heating the sticker price of a labeled Energy Star® home is up to $3000 higher than a similarly sized house. However, the operating costs of an Energy Star® labeled home are lower than that of a standard home due to reduced utility bills and the opportunity for lower rate mortgage financing by the homeowner. In a year, the homebuyer could save over $700 on cost of ownership, thus the initial additional investment is repaid quickly and savings begin to accrue annually.

Looking Ahead

This fall an opportunity will be offered for homeowners and businesses to participate in the Energy Star® Home Performance ™ program which enables them to make energy efficient improvements and retrofits to their property with the benefit that the state (through NYSERDA and participating lenders) will buy down (reduce) their mortgage interest rate by 4.5 % for up to five years. Consumers in Greenburgh and all over Westchester County are also being encouraged to purchase Energy Star® appliances for their home or office from local retailers. Greenburgh anticipates greater public outreach in the coming months to raise awareness about these Energy Star® benefits.

Benjamin Marks is a second year student at Pace University School of Law and a research assistant with the Pace Energy Project.

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