| Developer Says City Keeping Him From Renovating Crime-Ridden Area
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A developer says he has big plans to renovate several rundown apartment complexes in an Orlando neighborhood that has been riddled with crime. But he says the city is standing in the way. Developer Jimmy Yuken wants to renovate the Peppertree apartments on Mercy Drive, one by one. The problem is they all have code violations and the city says the most dangerous violations, including the unsafe stairs leading to the second floor units, have to be fixed in less than 60 days whether someone is living in the buildings or not. "We put in all the central air conditioning ducts," Yuken said during a walk-through of one of the units. Jimmy Yuken is in a hurry to gut the Peppertree apartment complex, but says he can't do it on the city's deadline.
Rising to the challenge of carbon neutrality
Although it depends on the building type, typically compliance with the Seattle Energy Code can get us close. The requirement in the 2030 Challenge is 50 percent less than CBECS, which is a recording of how much energy actual buildings use right now. It is not 50 percent better than ASHRAE 90.1, which is the benchmark used for the LEED rating system. Both the U.S. Green Building Council and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) are reported to be working to align their performance targets with CBECS. Terry Townsend, president of ASHRAE, says that by 2010 ASHRAE 90.1 will be 30 percent more stringent than in 2004. He estimates that will signify a 58 percent reduction compared with CBECS. Achieving the two mandatory energy credits for LEED means that your project will be 14 percent better than ASHRAE 90.1.
Contractor emerges as charity's Champion
Vandals destroyed the heater at the American Red Cross' headquarters on Sixth Street in Modesto last week, sending a shiver through the charity, but things began to warm up again Tuesday. Champion Industrial Contractors Inc. of Modesto donated the $2,500 deductible the Red Cross would have had to pay to replace the heating and air conditioning unit, said Rebecca Ciszek, executive director of the Red Cross's Stanislaus County chapter. Then the contractor installed a $5,702 replacement unit. The balance will be covered by insurance. By early afternoon, the place was heating up. "The classroom is nice and warm," Ciszek said about 1 p.m. "It took a little while because that room had been cold now for a week." The donation means the organization won't have to dig into its charity funds to fix the unit, Ciszek said.
Electrical system controls AC units, lowers energy use
Manufacturer of electrical equipment, cable management systems and wiring accessories, Legrand, has developed energy saving occupancy sensors known as the Wattstopper system. The product is based on passive infrared and ultrasonic technologies, are designed to monitor and control lighting and temperature levels in domestic, commercial and industrial applications. “Recently launched Wattstopper switches and sensors turn lighting and air-conditioning off in unoccupied areas," says Legrand South Africa national sales manager Timothy Mountjoy. “This saves users hours of wasted energy each day, thereby ensuring substantial energy savings at a crucial time in this country," he says. Wattstopper low temperature sensors are designed for installation in cold storage facilities and freezers, and operate on the basis of passive infrared technology that senses occupancy by detecting the difference between heat emitted from the human body in motion and the background space.
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