Picaso, the president of his namesake company, is rolling out a host of environmental changes at his properties, from greener lightbulbs to more frequent boiler cleanings. The biggest – if approved by the boards – would be to sign up each building for an energy-service company (ESCO) and use the savings generated to make it more affordable to use green power.

ESCOs, optimally, save money because you only have to pay sales tax on the supply side, not the delivery portion, which is about a third of your total bill. New York State offers incentives to use an ESCO instead of such traditional utilities as Con Edison, as part of deregulation that began in 1999. Combined with a "retail access credit," savings can range from three to five percent, according to Juice, the ESCO with which Picaso is working.

By using an ESCO, Picaso says, his buildings can convert 100 percent to such green-power options as wind or low-impact hydroelectric, and pay just two or three percent more than they would using traditional power — as opposed to five to ten percent more without the ESCO savings.

Several boards are already eager to sign up. At 31 East 71st Street, board member Sheryl Asklund-Rock says she's thrilled with Picaso's plans for her roughly 30-unit co-op. The board gave preliminary approval at its February 2008 meeting, and though green power will cost a little more – about $900 a year – Asklund-Rock says the board was behind the proposal. "These are things worth spending money on."

Picaso's next step is to approach some of his larger buildings, which have higher consumption demands, since savings will be dramatic and he can use that information when he goes to other boards.

Boiler Toiler

One of the Picaso's changes that does not need board approval is to start cleaning boilers more frequently at his buildings. Standard practice is to clean twice a year, at the beginning and the end of heating season. But, he says, supplemental cleanings each month "can save up to six percent in your fuel costs because you are starting each month with an absolutely clean boiler, and the cleaner they are, the more efficient they are."

The more buildings that sign up for the frequent cleaning, the lower the cost per building. Picaso estimates it could be about $200 per cleaning. "If fuel for the building is $100,000 a heating season and you save six percent of that, that's $6,000," he says. "If you've cleaned the boiler six times, that's only $1,200."

At 142 East 71st Street, board president Barbara Sproul says the plan made perfect sense for the 42-unit co-op. "It costs more money [in the short run] to clean the boiler, but by the end of the year you save a few thousand in oil costs," she says. "You'd have to have a very short- range view not to think it's a good deal."

Another change Picaso wants to implement is to swap traditional incandescent lightbulbs for compact-florescent (CF) models. The federal Energy Star program estimates that compact fluorescents cost more than traditional models but use about 75 percent less energy and last ten times longer.

In some buildings, Picaso will put CF bulbs in all common areas; in others, he'll test them on one floor at a time. He knows that some people don't like the light cast from CF bulbs as much as traditional ones, so he is trying different models to find a type that works well and is pleasing. "When we get to the point where we want to purchase something, we want to do it in volume so that we can get a discount," Picaso says.

At some point, Picaso would also like to put lights in some buildings on motion sensors to cut down on electrical use. Down the line, he's even looking at whether to use green cleaning supplies at his buildings.

"When something is new, it takes a long time to mull it over and get through everything," he admits. "You still have to run the building. It's easy to just go order another case of 100-watt incandescent bulbs that we've been using for 20 years."

But now is the time, he believes. "The cost of fuel is astronomical," Picaso notes. "There has to be a way to cut down on all of this. None of these are home runs. But when you add them up, they can all mean real money savings, and they can mean a big difference environmentally."

Adapted from Habitat April 2008. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>

Illustration by Marcellus Hall