St. Louis Public Housing Authority:

Murphy+Graves Architects recently worked with the St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA) to prepare an energy audit of over 370 buildings and more than 3700 individual units.

This massive audit was spread over 45 different project sites to be reviewed. Each different unit type was evaluated, and a walk-thru survey identified existing conditions for architectural, electrical, heating & cooling, and domestic hot water systems.

Upon completion of walk-thru surveys, Murphy+Graves Architects developed a list of “Energy Conservation Measures”. We considered all applicable measures for the climate, condition, and location of the housing units. After calculating initial cost of conservation improvements we could determine payback and cost-effectiveness of suggested measures. Murphy+Graves Architects made recommendations of items to consider helping reduce energy usage.

Our calculations helped realize that replacing old, inefficient equipment with new energysaving equipment addresses capital improvement needs while reducing energy costs. In many cases, the energy savings from the new equipment were enough to cover the cost of the new equipment within a specified time frame.

The SLHA will use our data to evaluate and prioritize energy-saving capital improvements for their housing developments over a five year period. This will help the SLHA save anywhere from 10 percent to over 60 percent on energy bills. Energy conservation improvements SLHA has chosen to implement will also improve housing from a health, safety, and comfort point of view…

Happier environments = Happier tenants

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Energy Audit:

Energy efficiency is an integral part of every building owner’s operations and capital improvement planning process.  Murphy+Graves Architects has extensive experience identifying items responsible for energy consumption and we can help you ascertain methods of reducing energy loss. The most compelling reason for you to make energy conservation improvements is the potential for significantly reduced energy costs.

Modifications to a building, its energy-using systems, or equipment have the potential to save energy in that building. Murphy+Graves will help you identify potential modifications and determine the payback and cost-effectiveness for judging whether your energy conservation improvements are financially reasonable. We can provide the following items to help you with your decision making:

• Organization of a Facility Survey. Murphy+Graves can customize a survey to meet your specific needs. The survey is typically divided into the following general sections:

· General Building Data

· Architectural Data

· Heating and Cooling Systems Data

· Domestic Hot Water System/Water             Supply Systems Data

· Lighting Systems Data

· Miscellaneous Data

• Calculations of Current Energy Consumption : 

• Potential Energy Conservation Improvements : 

• Payback period : 

• Cost-effectiveness :