Energy
Using energy efficiently has been a critical focus of CNT’s efforts to improve urban sustainability. In 2000, CNT Energy (formerly known as the Community Energy Cooperative) was created to explore new ways to measure energy usage and to assist individual consumers and concerned communities in achieving sustainable, affordable energy solutions.
The energy programs at CNT are consolidated under the division CNT Energy, a 501c(4) non-profit organization helping consumers and communities obtain the information and services they need to reduce their consumption and costs. CNT Energy’s areas of focus include building performance and energy efficiency, real-time electricity pricing, climate change analysis, regional energy planning, and green building research and evaluation.
CNT Energy offers consumer households up-to-date information on the rapidly changing energy market in Illinois. Members gain access to educational programs on managing energy costs, as well as opportunities to participate in pilot programs designed to benefit consumers.
CNT Energy will continue developing innovative programs and strategies to reduce energy consumption and costs, and will work to help communities become healthier and more sustainable.
To learn more about CNT Energy’s programs and tools, visit our Web site at www.cntenergy.org.
Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
The U.S. Green Building Council –Chicago Chapter and its partners are recruiting up to 25 more projects for analysis in year 2 of the Regional Green Building Case Study Project. If interested in enrolling an Illinois LEED project in this multi-year study, please visit the project recruitment web site then submit a completed authorization form.
During the project’s first year the U.S. Green Building Council—Chicago Chapter and its partners collected and analyzed data from 25 projects across the state. With the generous support of the Grand Victoria Foundation and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, we will re-engage the initial 25 projects while adding 25 more projects, for a total sample size of 50. This is one of a few post-occupancy studies with such a broad scope of metrics and is among the first to collect multiple years of data and provide ongoing analysis to participants.
Click here to learn more about year 2 of the Regional Green Building Case Study, including eligibility requirements.
Click here to learn more about CNT’s work on the year 1 of the Regional Green Building Case Study.
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Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Today the U.S. Green Building Council – Chicago Chapter released a year-one report of the post-occupancy performance of LEED buildings in Illinois. CNT is one of five project partners and performed the project’s data collection and analysis.
The report analyzes how 25 LEED commercial building projects in Illinois perform post-occupancy over multiple years in areas including energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, commute transportation and occupant comfort. The research is funded for a second year, which will kick off later this fall, and will include up to 50 new and returning projects.
The report includes nine case studies and a sample feedback report to building owners. It also discusses why both individual and program level-building performance evaluation must be tracked regularly. Understanding how a building ‘actually’ performs, rather than relying on modeled data only, is the essential first step toward improvement. Several case studies describe how their buildings’ uses have changed over time and how the changes impact their performance. “Measure and Improve!” was the steering committee‘s mantra to participants throughout the project.
This regional report is timely since it is being released as the national USGBC responds to calls for performance-based evaluations of the market dominant LEED rating system. In August, USGBC launched its Building Performance Initiative, which will create a system for collecting, analyzing and reporting on the performance of LEED buildings.
CNT and CNT Energy are working on several additional building performance initiatives. We’re developing a predictive transportation energy intensity (TEI) index with a USGBC research grant, and providing one-stop shop residential energy retrofit services for Illinois homes and apartments. We track the performance of our own LEED Platinum and Energy Star Labeled office building through our Green Intelligence Tool.
To learn more about the USGBC-Chicago Chapter Year 1 Study:
Read the report and executive summary.
Read the press releases from CNT and USGBC-Chicago Chapter.
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Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
In September, CNT conducted the first of three workshops kicking off the Municipal Energy Profile Program (MEPP) for the 7-county Chicago region. There a forum was created for technical questions and best practices on how different communities are planning to spend their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program federal money, and received input on how CNT can best help municipalities. The workshop helped set the stage for developing a regional partnership to address energy efficiency and participate in the competitive round of federal funding.
With funding from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, CNT is working with municipalities around the region to assess and analyze their resident’s energy and emissions usage. Each profile includes aggregates of annual natural gas consumption and electricity consumption from account-level data; aggregate annual electricity consumption from account-level data; annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory; and annual transportation by vehicle miles traveled, provided by the natural gas and electricity utilities serving Northern Illinois—ComEd, Nicor, Peoples and North Shore Gas.
The information and tools that CNT will provide can help position these municipalities to better leverage federal funding through the ARRA’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program to help them design programs to begin to address energy consumption and create programs that promote efficiency.
Energy profiles for all other 283 municipalities in the region will be completed. CNT will use this region-wide information to create a data center for energy efficiency planning for northern Illinois, and continue to provide assistance and develop regional partnerships. For additional information on how you can work with CNT, contact Lindy Wordlaw at Lindy@cntenergy.org.
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