Seattle Housing stresses resource conservation

New partnerships support cost savings

SEATTLE—July 17, 2007—In 2002 and 2003, Seattle Housing Authority worked with Seattle Public Utilities to upgrade the toilets in its public housing units to meet current standards for conserving water. As a result of this simple change, SHA has been able to reduce the cost of water use by a whopping $4.5 million since then. A new agreement, recently signed, will provide $75,000 from SPU to replace 400 toilets in apartments recently acquired by SHA. This will result in a cost savings (avoided cost) of over $1 million over the life of these fixtures. And a grant from Seattle City Light will soon provide cost-saving Compact Fluorescent Lights to residents in SHA apartments.

Jonathan Stine holds a Com-pact Fluorescent Light in one hand, equivalent to the energy cost of ten regular light bulbs.

It is significant savings like these that have led the Housing Authority to commit to reducing expenditures for utilities by an additional 10 to 15 percent over the next three years. This commitment is part of an agreement between SHA and Puget Sound Energy to reduce both the consumption and the cost of natural resources.

Jonathan Stine is the employee who is currently responsible for managing SHA’s utilities, and as an extension of his work he will take on responsibility for being SHA’s official “corporate resource conservation manager.” With specialized degrees in energy management and industrial energy controls, Stine is well qualified for the job. He has worked as an energy consultant in private industry as well as in President Clinton’s administration.

“I know that SHA staff and residents are already aware of the importance of conserving our energy resources,” he said recently. “I look forward to helping us become even more of a leader in this area.” Because of SHA’s agreement to conserve, Puget Sound Energy is providing energy accounting software to track consumption, cost and savings. The company will also pay a significant percent of Stine’s salary.

Through Stine’s work, SHA will soon be receiving 40,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs (known as CFLs) from Seattle City Light. The CFLs will be distributed to residents free of charge. “This lighting upgrade will decrease residents’ expenditures for electricity by as much as $700,000 over the life of the CFLs and avoid the production of 2.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide, which is the major contributor to global climate change,” Stine said recently.

Tom Tierney, SHA’s executive director, is encouraging all SHA employees to assist with this effort. “With all of the housing we own and manage, SHA has the opportunity to make a significant difference in this arena. We want to be as supportive as we can of the efforts of Mayor Nickels and others across the city who are working to conserve resources.” Consequently, Seattle Housing has joined Mayor Greg Nickel’s Seattle Climate Partnership.  As a partner, SHA is working to reduce dependence on carbon fuels by reducing consumption wherever possible and by adopting green building standards for its new housing. SHA recently received a $101,000 grant from Seattle City Light to install energy-efficient lighting fixtures in Phase II of High Point.

Stine will be working with SHA staff across the agency to look for a variety of ways to conserve resources – from major recycling initiatives and energy saving measures to simple but effective steps like turning off the lights when leaving an office or conference room. “Our day-to-day habits can make a big difference,” he maintains. “We just have to think about it and take action to conserve.”