In 2008, the Ithaca Housing Authority (IHA) began an energy conservation project to lower energy consumption throughout the agency.  IHA partnered with companies such as New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal’s Weatherization Program in this initiative.  See pictures.

The Housing Authority has been approved for a $1.6 million lease from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and approximately $500,000 in additional grants from NYSERDA for the project. 

            The IHA was one of the first Housing Authorities to begin energy conservation projects. They began their first upgrades in 2004 with a twelve year long project the involved converting the Southview apartments heating system from electric to natural gas.  The current project is a 20 year long process meaning the savings in energy will have paid for the loan debt service by 2028. 

The IHA’s current energy savings project includes upgrading boiler systems, the use of Energy Star appliances and improving ventilation using a state-of-the-art heat recovery system.  Improvements even extend to the small areas such as converting all of the light bulbs to compact fluorescents which last longer and use less energy. 

            The benefits of these upgrades cross many areas, the biggest of all being, of course, energy conservation.  Bill Dawson, the financial consultant for this project stated “I think that this is the most important reason to do it, we all need to do our part to conserve energy and it has a huge benefit to the environment.”  Not only is it eco-friendly, but when all of the upgrades are finished, the IHA will save over $80,000 a year on energy bills.  That’s almost $7,000 a month and about $230 a day. 

Also, residents who live in the Titus Towers 2 building, which the IHA operates, pay for their own electricity; consequently, the energy improvements benefit them financially as well.  Furthermore, all of the IHA family and elderly residents will have the luxury of new appliances in their apartments with the satisfaction of knowing they are energy efficient.  With countless benefits and a desire for capital improvements, the IHA is doing big things by going green.