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A Bright Idea
“A while back my boss recommended I change out my old light bulbs for CFL’s – so I did and I have not changed a light bulb in two years! I called all my sisters and made them change to CFLs too.”
Mia Brown -
Jonesboro, Georgia
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A Dream "Green" Home
Eugene and Chris Mobley built their Platinum-rated EarthCraftTM home, the highest level that can be achieved, in 2008. EarthCraftTM House, created in 1999, is a residential green-building program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, in partnership with Southface. So what did the Mobleys do to create their dream "green" home? They designed the home on a North/South facing lot with low/no maintenance building materials. The landscaping surrounding their home is completely native with minimum grass. The interior has low-VOC paint and carpet, and 80 percent of the hardwired light fixtures and all of the appliances, are Energy Star® certified. The Mobleys worked closely with their builder/contractor to face - and meet - the challenge of building an energy-efficient home outside of metro Atlanta. "Our new home was designed for low-maintenance, easy accessibility and most importantly, low-energy consumption. We are proud to have the only EarthCraftTM Platinum-certified home in Oconee County and love sharing our story."
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Home Investments Yield Big Energy and Cost Savings
A leaky water heater in 2007 led Lawrenceville, Georgia homeowner Scott Razzino down the path to a more energy-efficient home and significant cost savings. He purchased a tankless water heater for his 26-year-old home, and obtained a $300 federal tax credit, a $100 rebate from Atlanta Gas Light and a $30 rebate from the manufacturer. As a result of this installation, Razzino pays more for the service fee than actual usage. Since then, he has installed a new HVAC system and furnace, insulated his attic and replaced his windows, front door and sidelights, among other improvements. Razzino funded portions of those projects with rebate programs through his employer, federal tax credits and county tax credits such as Gwinnett County's toilet rebate program. His home is now more comfortable in the summer, and he noted, "My highest gas bill was $160 during the winter, and my highest AC bill was $145. I can only compare to others who tell me they pay gas bills ranging from the high $200's to low $300's and AC bills from the high $300's to low $400's per month with houses similar in size to mine." Razzino has tracked his energy bills for more than three years and sees the long-term savings in relation to the investments he made.
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A "Green" Treetop Adventure
A family vacation to Costa Rica in 2007 by Leah and Kirk Watkins triggered the concept for North Georgia Canopy Tours. The Watkins retained Bonsai-Design to design and construct an eco-friendly destination. Two canopy tour courses opened in April 2010 on 136 acres. Located one hour north of Atlanta in Lula, Georgia, in northeast Hall County, these eco-tours include tree platforms, multiple ziplines (several over ponds and a river), nature hikes, sky bridges and a rappel. The tours are led by two highly-trained guides, who provide a “higher perspective” by sharing ecological knowledge throughout the thrilling adventure. Georgia’s ultimate zipline experience was constructed with an energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly design to accommodate thousands of tourists annually with minimal environmental impact. The highly-efficient geothermal heating and air conditioning system taps into the uniform temperature of the earth a few hundred feet below the surface. The system is maintained and operated within the building and runs quietly because of its efficiency. Other energy-efficient initiatives include windmills that aerate ponds, a retention pond repurposed into a beautiful water feature, high R-factor window glass and hand dryers that are designed to save energy. To conserve water and energy, dual flush toilets and waterless urinals were installed. The Watkins estimate that more than $3,000 in electrical costs savings are realized annually by these innovations. The Canopy Command Center was furnished with used items and furniture made from fallen trees on the property. The decking on the tree platforms on the courses is rescued white oak from fallen trees milled by Seven Beauties Inc., a company located in Atlanta, and the original chicken house trusses were repurposed and painted for the Command Center. North Georgia Canopy Tours has taken the Georgia Energy Challenge to guide its sustainability efforts, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to lessen the environmental impact of the facility and its visitors. For more information, visit www.northgeorgiacanopytours.com.
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A "Green" Treetop Adventure
A family vacation to Costa Rica in 2007 by Leah and Kirk Watkins triggered the concept for North Georgia Canopy Tours. The Watkins retained Bonsai-Design to design and construct an eco-friendly destination. Two canopy tour courses opened in April 2010 on 136 acres. Located one hour north of Atlanta in Lula, Ga., in northeast Hall County, these eco-tours include tree platforms, multiple ziplines (several over ponds and a river), nature hikes, sky bridges and a rappel. The tours are led by two highly-trained guides, who provide a "higher perspective" by sharing ecological knowledge throughout the thrilling adventure. Georgia's ultimate zipline experience was constructed with an energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly design to accomodate thousands of tourists annually with minimal environmental impact. The highly-efficient geothermal heating and air conditioning system taps into the uniform temperature of the earth a few hundred feet below the surface. The system is maintained and operated within the building and runs quietly because of its efficiency. Other energy-efficient initiatives include windmills that aerate ponds, a retention pond repurposed into a beautiful water feature, high R-factor window glass and hand dryers that are designed to save energy. To conserve water and energy, dual flush toilets and waterless urinals were installed. The Watkins estimate that more than $3,000 in electrical costs savings are realized annually by these innovations. The Canopy Command Center was furnished with used items and furniture made from fallen trees on the property. The decking on the tree platforms on the courses is rescued white oak from fallen trees milled by Seven Beauties Inc., a company located in Atlanta, and the original chicken house trusses were repurposed and painted for the Command Center. North Georgia Canopy Tours has taken the Georgia Energy Challenge to guide its sustainability efforts, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to lessen the environmental impact of the facility and its visitors. For more information, visit www.northgeorgiacanopytours.com.
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Leading the Region in the Arts and Sustainability
For more than 40 years, the Woodruff Arts Center has set the arts standard for Atlanta and the Southeast by providing the region with traditional and avant-garde performing and visual arts. The Center, which has more than one million visitors each year, includes the Alliance Theatre, High Museum of Art, Young Audiences, 14th Street Playhouse and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
The Woodruff Arts Center began a series of initiatives in 2007 to reduce energy consumption, using the money in energy savings to continue supporting the Center's mission of bringing the arts to Atlanta and the Southeast. The Center's comprehensive sustainability initiative includes an energy-team-led conservation program, recycling and employee commute alternatives. Pilot projects completed to date include high-efficiency lighting, reflective and vegetative roofing and commissioning of HVAC systems. Planned projects include low-flow plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency HVAC and lighting and building automation systems. In 2009, the Woodruff Arts Center realized energy cost savings of $364,000. For more information on the Woodruff Arts Center, visit www.woodruffcenter.org.
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Worship, Community and Conservation
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, established in 1863, has historically met the challenges of its congregation and surrounding community. It started with creating a sense of community and worship as the Civil War waged in Atlanta, Georgia. And it continues 147 years later with its efforts to become more environmentally conscientious. In 2006, St. Luke's made a commitment to lead by example and establish a sustainability program, and four years later, St. Luke's saves more than $36,000 annually in energy costs. The church has also reduced its carbon footprint by 33 percent and exceeded The Georgia Energy Challenge to cut energy consumption by 15 percent. The efforts began with an energy audit, performed by Southface Energy Institute in 2006 and funded by a generous parishioner. The audit identified a number of opportunities for the congregation to not only conserve energy, but save money as well. The recommendations provided were reviewed and published in St. Luke's bi-weekly newsletter, "The Shepherd's Voice," and an implementation plan was developed through funds from the congregation's operating budget and a $15,000 grant from Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) in 2007. The funds made it possible to complete one of the church's first energy-efficiency projects - installing a new central automatic control system for its heating and air-conditioning systems. Additional energy conservation measures were taken later, such as installing high-efficiency lighting and occupancy sensor lighting controls. St. Luke's is currently researching ways to conserve water using Georgia's Water Conservation Implementation Plan as a blueprint, and continues to work to be good stewards of the state's precious natural resources.
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LEED Gold, Red and Black: Hotel Indigo-Athens
The Hotel Indigo-Athens, which opened in fall of 2009, is located just steps from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The hotel, built on a previously developed urban infill site, was awarded LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Hotel Indigo is the tenth hotel in the world, and the first in the Intercontinental Hotel Group, to receive Gold Certification. The green hotel utilizes a variable-refrigerent-flow-zoning (VRF) heating and air conditioning system, Icynene® spray foam insulation and low E-glazing on the windows. More than 30 percent of the building was constructed from recycled content including countertops, metal room studs, carpet, ceramic tile and rubber flooring. And more than 1,660 tons of construction waste was recycled and/or diverted from landfills. More information can be found at www.indigoathens.com.
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The Green Standard in the Southeast: Gables Midtown
Gables Midtown in Atlanta is the first EarthCraft and ENERGY STAR® certified multi-family residence in the entire Southeast. Designed in partnership with the Southface Energy Institute and its EarthCraft program, Gables Midtown features four-inch air returns that increase indoor air quality, high-efficiency and compact fluorescent lighting, 14 SEER HVAC systems using CFC-free Puron refrigerant and ENERGY STAR® dishwashers and refrigerators. Through its ENERGY STAR® certification, the community is 20 percent more energy efficient than current building codes requires. Gables Midtown is a model of sustainability in the region and sets a new standard for green building.
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Georgia Building Authority Leads The Way
The Georgia Energy Challenge was a logical fit for the Georgia Building Authority (GBA), the agency responsible for all maintenance and services for the State Capitol Building, the Governor’s Mansion, and other facilities in the Capitol Hill Complex. Energy costs are the second largest expense for the GBA, so the agency is continually looking for the best ways to conserve and manage energy wisely. In fiscal year 2009, GBA led a complex-wide initiative to promote energy and cost savings among its tenants. Individuals were encouraged to turn off lights when not in use, thermostats were set to ASHRAE standards, and heating and air systems were set to coincide with work schedules. The GBA also completed several large Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) including complex wide lighting improvements, decentralization of the complex wide heating system, variable frequency drives installations on large HVAC equipment, off-peak supplemental chiller installation and recommisioning of the facility computerized control systems and selected pneumatic systems. Through these and other measures, GBA reduced its energy consumption 25% in 2009 from its 2007 level.
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State and City Governments Working Together
In order to achieve the Georgia Energy Challenge, the City of Decatur decided it was best to start by assessing their current energy usage and practices. With grant funding provided by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, they undertook four energy audits of government facilities. Two staff members accompanied the auditors, providing the staff with an opportunity to learn from the auditors’ expertise while also answering questions about City operations. The resulting reports, combined with historical utility information from all other government facilities, will help to ensure that investments in energy efficient technology are made wisely.
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Building a Green Community: Clark's Grove
The Clark's Grove EarthCraft Community in Covington, Georgia, was awarded $250,000 through GEFA's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Competitive Grant Program to install 59 kilowatts of solar power and a solar thermal collector for domestic hot water. The solar panels, developed and installed by Hannah Solar, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia, provides energy sources for the community's elementary school and mixed-use buildings, including a coffee shop, restaurant and beauty salon. This neighborhood, which is slated to have more than 300 homes, walking trails, parks, a wetlands garden and a pavilion, and based on the principles of Traditional Neighborhood Development, is a template in sustainable living.
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An Education in Successful Green Programs
Ninety-five percent of Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) facilities eligible for consideration recently earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for superior energy performance. These 111 schools performed in the top 25 percent of K-12 schools nationwide using the ENERGY STAR performance scale and other benchmarking tools to access how efficiently facilities operate. Top-rated buildings must have an energy performance score of 75 percent or higher. GCPS's average score is 86. With more than 21 million square feet of building space ENERGY STAR certified, GCPS not only leads the nation for K-12 certified space, but its energy-efficiency initiatives save the school system $8.4 million annually.
GCPS has been committed to environmental stewardship and lowering energy costs for many years. The school system was an early proponent of the Clean Air Schools program, and has participated since 2007. During the 2010-2011 school year, nearly half of GCPS implemented one or more programs to improve air quality on school grounds. A major accomplishment as a result of this initiative is that the school system reduced idling vehicles on its campuses by nearly 50 percent. This focus helped the school district win a 2011 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award from the U.S. Green Building Council of Georgia (USGBC-GA).
GCPS also partners with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful to promote the Green & Healthy School Program, which focuses on strategic planning, teaching, learning and doing that result in a "green" and healthy world. During the 2010-2011 school year, 77 schools earned Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful's Environmental Achievement Award.
The school system's students also play an important role in GCPS' environmental education program. The students lead recycling campaigns, create gardens, maintain and beautify their campuses, and develop plans to conserve energy.
GCPS is a model for organizations that develop and maintain successful sustainability programs, and participants in the Georgia Energy Challenge. GCPS' accomplishments recognize the hard work of the school system's leadership and students as they work together to reduce costs and protect the environment.
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A Group Effort at Westminster
Through an aggressive team-based conservation initiative, Westminster Schools has taken the Georgia Energy Challenge and successfully reduced its annual electricity consumption by 15.1% over 2007 -- saving $100,000 in annual energy costs. They have recently completed a campus-wide energy and water audit, carbon footprint analysis, and strategic implementation plan. The audit results show that the school uses 22% less energy per square foot than its regional peers. And they won't stop there. Numerous conservation projects planned for this summer will enable Westminster to exceed the Georgia Energy Challenge for all energy sources as well as reduce campus water consumption by over 2 million gallons per year! Westminster attributes their success to active leadership and involvement by all students, faculty, and staff.
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Marietta Students Learn to “Save-A-Watt”
To help its elementary and secondary school students learn about energy conservation in a real-world setting, Marietta City Schools launched the “Save-A-Watt” contest in September 2009. Partners Marietta Power & Water and Apogee Interactive, Inc., tracked each school’s energy usage in real time and allowed students and teachers to check their performance on a dedicated website. First semester winner Sawyer Road Elementary reduced its energy usage 22% compared to the same period last year, with other schools averaging more than a 10% reduction.
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Darton College Exceeds the Challenge
Darton College in Albany was one of the first schools to take the Governor’s Energy Challenge. In its inaugural year, the college reduced its cost per square foot for utilities by 22%, even as it increased its total square footage. For its outstanding efforts, Darton College received Conserve Georgia’s 2009 Energy Conservation Award. “It’s a great honor for Darton College to be recognized for our efforts,” said Krista Robitz, communications director for the school. “[It] is the right thing to do for our environment and will save the college more than $500,000 in utility costs over the next three years.”
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