Allen Associates and NRG Answers LLC have teamed up to retrofit Central Coast businesses with energy-saving modifications.
“Many people are not fully aware how easy and relatively inexpensive some energy-efficiency changes can be and how the comfort, safety, quality and fair market value can all be enhanced,” said Mike Hackett, founder of NRG Answers, a new efficiency and green energy consulting business.
NRG and Allen Associates, a Santa Barbara residential contractor that specializes in green energy, have formed the Green Energy Collective. It brings together service providers to offer free deep energy assessments so an owner can implement the most cost-effective methods for increasing a property’s energy efficiency, reducing operating costs, saving on utility bills and improving the building’s environment.
The collective integrates solar technology with energy efficiency and smart building automation systems, which can result in 50 percent to 100 percent energy savings, said Lucas Johnson, manager for Allen Associates’ Building Performance Specialists Division.
“It’s bringing buildings into the 21st century instead of just doing Band-Aid approaches,” said Johnson, a graduate of the UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. “Solar is great, but you need to do efficiency with it. A lot of times efficiency involves changing a light bulb, you are not getting deep into how the building is operating.”
Although Santa Barbara has prided itself on environmental leadership through initiatives such as the Community Environmental Council’s 2030 Challenge to reduce energy consumption, Johnson said the city isn’t moving quickly enough.
“We are quickly going to get left behind in the residential and commercial markets, especially in energy efficiency, which is the easiest step to become more eco-friendly,” he said.
Under Assembly Bill 1103, commercial business owners are required to disclose a building’s energy performance so prospective buyers can compare rankings. Hackett said that if a business has an Energy Star rating of 75 or above, property values increase by an average of 16 percent and rent rates increase 3 percent.
“Although you have to spend money upfront, the savings you are generating are often greater than your loan payment,” Johnson said.
The partners are targeting larger commercial businesses and offer anything from a complete retrofit to lighting replacement. They are actively seeking financing partnerships with local community banks. The payback period for certain energy-saving modifications can be as little as one year, Johnson said.
“A lot of building owners haven’t been approached with an analysis of how energy efficiency really benefits their bottom line,” Hackett said. “Act now before the incentives expire.”
— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.