Energy efficiency vs. historic value?

It’s time to get over the thought that energy efficiency is in some way counter to showing value for history and historically significant edifices.

In 2011 the Empire State Building was fully retrofit with new windows and energy systems to improve its performance.  It has saved over $4 million in energy costs per year since, with an ROI of less than three years.

Empire State Building renovation

In 2009 the NYS Governors’ Mansion went through a robust greening up process, reducing energy use, changing maintenance processes and achieving LEED Gold for Existing Buildings.

NYS Governors’ Mansion

And now the Eiffel Tower is doing it with UGE wind turbines.

Eiffel Tower turbines

So what is stopping you?

The argument that sustainability is too modern won’t fly.  In fact, the only way to ensure these buildings will be around and cared for is if we make sure their operating expenses are manageable! To do so we need to manage the energy use aggressively, now, and reduce that volatile piece of the operational budget.

There will always be debates about appearance, and certainly we need to employ a building science based assessment of what types of efficiency projects make sense.  We don’t want to improperly add a think layer of insulation and a vapor barrier to a wall if it will force the freeze point into the middle of the stone, for example. And there will always be struggles with finding the money to pay for the work we need to do.  But in the end we need to understand that we cannot preserve these icons or even our older, classic homes to be just as they were when they were built.

Times have changed, materials have changed, climate has changed and our knowledge has changed. Time to change our energy use!

 

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