Energy / Austin, Texas: 2010 Smarter City - Energy

Credit: Adrian World/Flickr

Urban heat island effect takes a toll on Austin: In the middle of the summer, ubiquitous air conditioners dump heat outdoors while black-topped roofs absorb solar radiation throughout the day only to release it throughout the night. The result is a city that can be anywhere from two-to-nine degrees hotter for longer hours in the day than the surrounding rural areas. So while the city is busy implementing the Austin Climate Protection Plan, including a goal to reach net zero municipal carbon emissions by 2020, it is also eagerly working to bring down temperatures now.

 

Efforts to cool Austin, along with distributed energy generation policies, legislated energy reduction, conservation incentives and other Austin Climate Protection Plan initiatives have earned the city a place among NRDC’s 2010 Smarter Cities for energy.

Lowering the Thermostat

The urban heat island effect doesn’t just make residents uncomfortable. It also threatens wildlife, native habitat and even human health. Plus, as the temperatures get warmer, air conditioners are kept running longer, consuming more energy and feeding the effect in a vicious cycle. Enter the Urban Heat Island Mitigation Project, just one aspect of the Austin Climate Protection Plan. The project is working to fight the heat through the preservation and expansion of the city’s urban forest. Reaching 40 percent tree cover in Austin would bring peak summer temperatures down by as much as two degrees, while cooling the air even more—by as much as four degrees—in the areas surrounding urban forests as trees release cool water from the pores in their leaves. To reach its goal, the city has planted thousands of new trees annually in recent years.

Cool Buildings

To truly be a cooler city, Austin needs cool buildings as well as cooler outdoor temperatures. To bring city buildings down to temp, the city has implemented the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance, which mandates energy audits for businesses and homeowners, with a few exceptions, if one hasn’t been done within the past ten years. Even residents shopping for a new home are called to action, according to Ester Matthews, Director of the Austin Climate Protection Program. “When a home is being sold, the buyer has to pay for an audit to see the energy quotient.” As much as 350 potential home buyers have had audits done since the ordinance was created in 2008. Multifamily properties and commercial buildings are required to have the audit done by June 1, 2011.

To help implement energy upgrades after the audit, municipally owned Austin Energy is offering significant rebates—up to $1,575 worth for residential projects and $100,000 for commercial buildings, as well as low-interest financing for Austin Energy customers. In June, the city partnered with the Texas Solar Energy Society to walk locals through the logistics of a cooler home. Austin’s Cool House Tour offered an up-close look at 12 local examples of energy-efficient home design in different areas of the city, with experts on site to answer questions.