Case Study – Rossmoor

Rossmoor, an active senior adult community, offers a wide range of amenities to its 9,500 residents including a golf course, multiple clubhouses, and a fitness center.

The Rossmoor board of directors takes great pride in the quality of life of residents and amenities that enrich the resident experience. To that end, when it came time to replace the aging high-pressure sodium streetlights, the decision was made to improve Rossmoor’s environmental impact by investing in energy-efficient lighting and upgrading the heating and cooling system in two adjoining buildings.

Rossmoor contracted with Enovity, the engineering firm that completed the project, to conduct a site audit and draft a proposal to help optimize the community’s energy utilization. The proposal included a suite of upgrades to the interior and exterior of three clubhouses to LED lighting.

It was important the Enovity team work closely with the residents at Rossmoor during the project to ensure the interior lighting in the clubhouses was comparable to the previous lighting so residents would not notice a difference when they used the facilities for recreational activities. “The table tennis room posed a challenge,” said David Chan from Enovity, “we had to work hard to find LEDs that provided the same light color and brightness, but we were able to match the colors and the residents seem happy with the new lighting.”

“Being able to use the on-bill financing made it possible for us to complete a project of this size,” said Jeff Matheson, Director of Resident Services at Rossmoor. “There is a lot of support from the community to be more efficient, but it is also important to find ways to make the upgrades economically feasible.”

When residents expressed concerns about the amount of blue light emitted from LEDs, Enovity selected fixtures that balanced the need for improved lighting throughout the facility with safety and efficiency in mind. “The streetlights provide 60% energy savings from the high-pressure sodium lights they replaced,” Chan said. “This is in addition to the maintenance cost savings from not having to replace the bulbs as frequently. The new lights have better color rendering and are brighter which makes the streets safer for residents.”

The audit also resulted in a recommendation to upgrade the heating and ventilation in two of the community facilities to improve comfort and air quality. “The new ducts at the Hillside Clubhouse bring in fresh air from outside,” said Chan, “and the variable refrigerant (VRF) system installed in the maintenance office building increased the number of zones from 9 to 40 allowing for greater control of the different spaces in the building.”

The project was completed using Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s Multifamily Energy Savings Program (MESP) on-bill financing, which provides no-interest loans for qualifying projects. The upgrades at Rossmoor result in monthly energy savings of $11,000 throughout the community. The loan to Rossmoor will be paid back over the course of ten years through the energy savings realized from the project.

For more information or to check eligibility, contact us at connect@multifamilyesp.com or visit www.multifamilyESP.com.

Posted July 11th, 2022