It would be a surprising development if public housing “greened” faster than private residential units, given the typical disparity in income between the two groups and the likelihood that affluent homeowners are better positioned to take advantage of renewable energy technologies like solar. But that’s exactly what seems to be happening in some areas of the nation, notably Phoenix.
The city’s 62-unit Paradise Village, aimed at low- to middle-income Phoenix residents, has been retrofitted with solar photovoltaic roof panels (on 14 of the units), solar hot-water panels on eight units, and exterior solar lighting that serves the entire complex.
The city also provided energy-efficiency additions (weatherstripping and energy-efficient hot water heaters), but it’s the solar additions that are remarkable, providing what is very nearly a carbon neutral footprint for some residents and a decidedly greener environmental image for others.
Funding was provided by Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which gave Arizona $1.5 billion to address energy and other concerns in the public housing, transportation, public safety, child and elder care and clean drinking water venues.
Arizona Public Service also chipped in, with more than $180,000 in renewable-energy systems rebates, and Las Vegas, Nevada-based Southwest Gas (which serves portions of Arizona, California and Nevada) donated the energy-efficient hot water heaters.
Owned by the Phoenix Housing Department, the 62-unit complex energy retrofit project was coordinated by the Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department. Green Fuel Technologies installed the solar units and, according to spokesman John Casey, the solar photovoltaic assemblies alone should provide residents in the 14 units with 80 percent of their power.
Moreover, this isn’t one of those soon-to-be-abandoned public housing units made famous in Detroit, Chicago and New York. The Paradise Village boasts a 97-percent occupancy rate. Nor is Paradise Village the sole example of using stimulus funding to green the footprints of lower income workers. The city of Phoenix is reportedly already at work on several similar projects, most focused on solar hot water heating, which is – dollar for dollar – the most cost-efficient form of solar energy currently on the market. In fact, the Arizona Solar Center notes that the initial return on investment for a solar hot water heating system is about 15 percent, tax-free – a figure that goes up as gas prices inflate and electricity prices skyrocket.
Solar hot water is also a quick way to reduce a home’s carbon footprint, says the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE. Replacing an electric hot water heater is the same as cutting between 40 and 100 percent of a vehicle’s carbon dioxide output. This means that homeowners replacing their energy-hog electric hot water heater with solar hot water can now drive the family car almost guilt-free again.