Outreach
Business Survey
BLUER is surveying businesses in the Borough to catalog energy-efficiency and conversion measures they are already taking, and to characterize the challenges businesses face in reducing emissions. 
This will help BLUER create viable initiatives and support businesses as we embark on our emission-reduction efforts. Take the online survey. Also, if you have any tips, ideas, or issues of concern, email us to share your thoughts.
Industrial Assessments
Industry is a critical component of our community, and energy efficiency in industry is of utmost importance to all of us. One way that industry can optimize productivity, reduce waste, and save energy is through an industrial energy assessment (or audit). BLUER learned that industrial audits can be performed locally via the Mid-Atlantic Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) completely free of charge. The IAC is sponsored by the US Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Industrial Technologies Program (more info).
What is an industrial assessment? An industrial assessment is an in-depth evaluation of a plant site, its facilities, services and manufacturing operations. Teams of faculty and students from the University of Delaware perform them at no cost, and participants receive a report that outlines recommended energy efficiency improvements, waste minimization and pollution prevention opportunities, and resulting productivity improvements.
These industrial assessments have resulted in an average $55,000 in annual savings for small- to mid-sized manufacturers. It’s also great for upper-class and graduate engineering students. They receive hands-on training and gain knowledge of industrial process systems, plant systems, and energy systems—making them highly attractive to employers.
Architects/Developers
BLUER is working to support our development community by helping ensure they have the information needed to construct new buildings to ENERGY STAR standards. For more information on West Chester’s ENERGY STAR ordinance for new construction, see [WC ENERGY STAR Ordinance Press Release].
West Chester BLUER Guide to a Greener Home
The objective of this guide is to help improve the energy efficiency of our homes and the things in it that use electricity. It does so by showing where the average home uses and loses the most energy; by showing where your home ranks in terms of energy efficiency; and, most importantly, by showing how to lower your energy use and utility bills.
Under West Chester’s zoning ordinance (2007), new buildings proposed to be higher than 45 feet must be designed to earn the Energy Star label and, once built, operate to Energy Star standards. The West Chester Borough Council approved the Energy Star requirement in December 2007 on recommendation of the BLUER committee.
The Borough of West Chester is the first municipality in the United States to require Energy-Star compliance of the private sector, according to Energy Star officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [link to Press Release PDF]
The ordinance for buildings higher than 45 feet requires that developers acquire the "Designed to Earn the Energy Star" label prior to construction. Developers will show they have earned this designation at the time they submit plans for their building permit. After the building has been in operation for a year, developers will apply for and earn the Energy Star label itself. The Energy Star program will present an Energy Star plaque to developers who meet the program’s requirements.
Developers’ first step in the Energy Star certification process is to ensure that the architect of record is an Energy Star Partner. Architects, engineers, energy consultants and others become Energy Star partners after filling out an application available online.
Energy Star’s building certification program is based solely on reaching a particular energy-efficiency goal, which is found and calculated using Energy Star’s easy-to-use on-line Target Finder system. To earn the "Designed to Earn the Energy Star" and "Energy Star" labels, developers must show that their building will be or is within the top 25 percent of similar buildings in terms of energy efficiency. Energy Star has no specific building requirements for developers (such as a minimum amount of insulation, HVAC system specifications, etc.). Instead, developers are simply required to meet their specific energy-use goal using whatever approach works best for them. Developers of higher buildings must continue to comply with the Pennsylvania building code.
Applying for Energy Star certification is free.
BLUER encourages all developers to incorporate the Energy Star program in their building designs to assist us in reducing energy consumption, cutting construction and energy costs, and lowering greenhouse gas generation. The Energy Star programs and tools are free of charge.
Energy Star is a government program provided by the EPA creating a national mark of excellence in energy performance. Buildings (and products) with an Energy Star rating are, by their definition, more energy efficient and carry a smaller carbon footprint than similar benchmark buildings (average type building) they’re compared to. EPA's Target Finder tool helps architects and building owners set aggressive, realistic energy targets and rate a building design's estimated energy use towards earning the Energy Star rating.
LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design developed by the United States Green Building Council, promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. LEED also provides several rating systems specific to building types to further guide and distinguish high-performance buildings. The LEED approach is different from Energy Star in that it takes a holistic examination of a building’s environmental impact where energy usage is only one component. As a matter of fact, LEED actually incorporates Energy Star as a benchmark for certification in some of its rating systems (LEED for Homes for example).
Both rating systems provide opportunities to track and improve the environmental impact of existing, built buildings too. Energy Star offers its Portfolio Manager which is an interactive energy management tool to allow building owners/managers to track and assess energy and water consumption across their entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment. Portfolio Manager can help set investment priorities, identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements, and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance. Similarly, the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System helps building owners and operators measure operations, improvements and maintenance on a consistent scale, with the goal of maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. LEED for Existing Buildings addresses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues (including chemical use), recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs, and systems upgrades. It can be applied both to existing buildings seeking LEED certification for the first time and to projects previously certified under LEED for New Construction, Schools, or Core & Shell.
Additional Info:
LEED: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
ES Portfolio Manager: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager
Energy Star:http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_index
On Sunday March 28th at 3 PM at the West Chester Borough Hall, Rep. Barbara McIlvaine-Smith will brief PennEnvironment members and volunteers on how they can help build a clean energy economy and tackle global warming. Learn what’s going on at the local, state and federal level on clean energy and how you can get involved.
Rep. McIlvaine-Smith will be joined by Dianne Herrin of BLUER, who will discuss the work West Chester is doing to reduce global warming pollution.
Please click here to RSVP.
Energy Breakfast
On Oct 1, 2009, BLUER and the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce cohosted an Energy Breakfast for West Chester business owners at the Pen Oaks Golf Club. The keynote speaker was Paul Spiegel of Practical Energy Solutions, who talked about several area case studies in which some simple usage changes led to make some big energy savings.
Click here to watch the video of the presentation.
Radio Promos
Local West Chester radio station WCHE 1520 AM has been running 1 minute BLUER promotions. Listen for these messages about BLUER and emissions reduction tips on WCHE, or download them to your PC or mp3 player here.