Cook County Energy Savers: How Energy Efficiency in Chicago’s Multi-Family Buildings Have Evolved to Meet New Challenges from the 1980's to the Present Day

Peter Ludwig, Anne Evens, and Larry Kotewa, Center for Neighborhood Technology

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Abstract

In the face of the abandonment of older multifamily buildings due to rising energy costs in the 1980s, the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) pioneered energy efficiency retrofit programs. The Chicago Energy Savers Fund (CESF), sponsored by People's Gas, retrofitted 12,500 units between 1984 and 1989, effected a 20-37% drop in pre-retrofit fuel consumption and strong practices in multifamily energy efficiency. Despite its success, CESF was discontinued in 1989 because it did not pass the "total resource test" narrowly-defined by the State Utility Commission.

In 2007, CNT formed the Cook County Energy Savers (CCES) as part of a revived multifaceted strategy to preserve affordable rental housing in Chicago. CCES, which is supported by contributions from foundations, electric and gas utilities and government agencies, is modeled on the success of CNTs experience with the CESF in the 1980s. CCES continues today and is evolving in response to changing market conditions. CCES is designed to help landlords and tenants save money, maintain and improve housing for lower-income renters, and respond to growing environmental concerns over Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG). This paper examines how the Cook County Energy Savers program is developing in relation to its predecessor, the Chicago Energy Savers Fund, to meet the challenges of energy efficiency in multi-family housing within the context of the climate change and affordable housing preservation.