EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The energy efficiency has been part of the American lexicon from 1978 in which the act of the power policy first was decreed. Since then, the economic homes of energy and the increasing use of the reanudables power resources have become the norm in states like New York and California. The policies and the programs have supported these state efforts whereas $847 million in the federal financing have been assigned recently to help to owners of a house through America to construct better homes. However, some parts of the continued country to use old fashioned practical codes and of the cover even though not more considered era sustainable. The region of the coast of the gulf of Luisiana, of Mississippi, and Alabama was such place. There is no way to know how many of the homes in the region of the coast of the gulf they were ineffective before the hurricane. Nevertheless, the opening between the best practice and the real practice were revealed whereas the Katrina hurricane came in earth throughout the coast from the gulf and many Americans glimpsed the lower deck to the normal level that be the status quo in the region per years.

Yet in this disaster, there is a synchronous opportunity with the recent changes in building policies. For example, in September of 2005, the new act of the power policy was passed through Congress in law. The international advice of the code (the ICC, an agency that fixes the standards for the buildings of the E.E.U.U.) increased in addition his codes to IECC 2006 for the new homes. And the program government-sponsored of the STAR of the ENERGY of the agency of protection of environment of the United States (EPA) amended its guidelines for the new homes in October of 2005. Luckyly, the policies for a “right reconstruction” are in place. Now, a healthy financial justification to make “options elegant of the energy” is necessary since 310,353 new unifamiliares homes are due to construct in the regions affected immediately.

Using a complex room of DOE-2 that along with models to analysis climate, census, and data of the management of the emergency of Luisiana, of Mississippi, and Alabama, this paper makes the box for an economic reconstruction of energy. This that modeled compared the impacts to reconstruct the homes that could have been constructed to the minimum codes of building (like line of bottom for the comparison) against four more and more economic standards of energy. Whereas the panorama of the “fast reimbursement” illustrated the reimbursement faster than it considered the investment initial, new guidelines 2006 of the homes of the STAR of the ENERGY in the short term demonstrated the more reasonable reimbursement with greater savings in a certain term. For example, the initial investment of $900 million to reconstruct 310,353 homes to the guidelines of the STAR of the ENERGY would hardly have a reimbursement of 7,5 year-many less than the term of the mortgage.

Due to the increasing quality of the homemade return-in-investment and it cuts, the panorama of the STAR of the ENERGY is recommended like the minimum threshold for the unifamiliares homes during the reconstruction. In addition, the annual savings of the electricity (that use this panorama) would avoid the equivalent one of a nuclear power station of Carolina of the South, and reduce the equivalent gas discharges of the conservatory to take 51,221 cars from the ways.

BOTTOM

The blows of the hurricane

The 29 of August of 2005, in 6:10 tomorrow, a hurricane of category 4 made landfall near Buras, Luisiana, with 145 winds of mph. Of 9:00 tomorrow, districto under New Orleans un' ninth was in favor more under 8 water feet and one trajectory of the destruction the size of the United Kingdom had been created and that left to 1,5 million people of without energy. The number of the parishes affected in Luisiana was 31, in the counties of Mississippi 47 they were affected, and in damage of the mountain range of the counties from Alabama 8 to its unifamiliares units of cover of 2,1 million. Of the total population 6 million people of in the affected areas, 1,5 million considered were evacuated of Luisiana only and the hundreds of thousands had needed in the greatest transmigración through America from the bowl of dust source of years 30. Before the October of 2005, 2,2 million people of considered had been placed for the aid of the federal agency of the management of the energy (FEMA) and 416,852 people still were without energy in Tejas and Luisiana.

On four hours short, a easy encariñado city called “the great one” by americans became a site of the extensive difficulty whereas the events composed the tragedy. In weeks, the consequences of Katrina created a toll of the death of almost 1.281. Many that passed away were between economic-defied America (the rent of the average per capita of those affected by the hurricane was around $17,000). The reach and the scale of the curativo process and the reconstruction are monumental. The 160,000 new considered unifamiliares homes will need to be constructed in the months that only come in New Orleans, with a total amount of 310,353 unifamiliares homes that need to be constructed in the three states.

DESCRIPTION OF COVER UNIFAMILIAR IN THE AREA OF THE COAST OF THE GULF

Brief covered history to unifamiliar of the gulf of the areas of costa'

After the civil war, the known men as “baggers of the carpet” entered the region of the coast of the gulf, to take advantage of a ravaged to the field and its people. In the 140 years from the civil war, the region of the coast of the gulf was populated and 2 million constructed considered unifamiliares homes in the affected region. Before 2000, the average cost of those homes was $71,685, almost $48,000 less than the home to unifamiliar average in America. These homes were not only cheaper than the typical house of the E.E.U.U., they also older era, with an average construct-date of 1975.

People in the areas of the coast of the gulf affected by Hurricane Katrina were more vulnerable than populacho average in America. The percent of the population that lived in rents in or underneath the line of the poverty in the parishes and the counties affected by the hurricane was 19% of the population. The average age of those homes was not only three decades but relative the energy efficiency (according to compared the national average) was lower than the norm. The region of the coast of the gulf struck by Hurricane Katrina had a history to be delayed behind the rest of the country in infrastructure terms, containing quality, and economic robustness. In short, the region was mature for the disaster class the wrought hurricane.

After the Katrina hurricane, new a chaste one of “baggers of the carpet” fixed on the region of the coast of the gulf, trying to take advantage of a ravaged again the field and populacho tired. Pero desemejante of the years military post-Civilian, opportunists of today is local. The jets of drywall to the materials of the material for ceilings are inflating material costs and the constructors in great are competing to use each healthy worker able to make pivot a hammer. Some great retailers are taking an active paper yet from the administration in the reconstruction. For example, the homemade deposit and its jets have partnered to donate almost $1,2 million products to those areas in necessity, along with $4 million in donations of the homemade foundation of the deposit. Meanwhile, the congress is trying to the step accounts to armor contractors of the lawsuit that could be from the workers in this contaminated, the dangerous area that is coast of today of the gulf. The time to anticipate the impacts of more elegant options for the reconstruction now is.

METHODOLOGY

Datasets and software modeling

The characteristics of the cover, including type of construction, the architectonic characteristics, and the amount of construction of the 86 counties and parishes in the three hard-struck the states (Luisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) were gleaned from the data the 2000 of the census office. The Modelers established a line of bottom of what existed pre-Katrina using DOE-2 that modeled software to compare the economic and environmental advantages of the reconstruction of an economic way of energy. For the facility to model to a representative sample, only the unifamiliares units of the homes they were considered since 67% of the destroyed homes were this type of the cover. Data of cost of means helped in modeling “by unit cost to reconstruct” each home for each panorama. The NAHB data described the projections of the beginning of cover for 2005-2010 whereas the additional economic characteristics for the region were collected of the 2000 censuses of the E.E.U.U.

Codes and standards

The climate of the codes in these three states gave a photo of which it would be practical to hope during the reconstruction. On day 29 of August of 2005, the local codes for the energy efficiency in the three states were based on as recent standards as the year 2000 and as old one as 1975. Nevertheless, the recent revisions of the code have made a reconstruction economic of possible energy. For example, new-reviewed IECC 2006 of the international advice of the codes was considered in a panorama. And since the program government-sponsored of the STAR of the ENERGY of the EPA amended its new guidelines of the homes in October of 2005, and those guidelines are the 1 of January of 2006 that begins effective, those guidelines were considered like another panorama.

Options for the reconstruction of the coast of the gulf

Four panoramas were selected to model, against a line of bottom fixed to the code model 1993 (MEC 93) of the energy. In this line of bottom, it was assumed that all the destroyed houses had been constructed in fact to a standard of the code that was approximately one decade old. Still, like it can be seen of a hasty revision of the codes for these states, is probable that many of these houses were not constructed to a so recent code. However, the line of bottom was established as if the home had a solar coefficient of the increase of the heat of the window (SHGC) of 0,58, a R-value of the wall of 13, a R-value of the attic of 23, a seasonal degree of the energy efficiency of the air conditioner (FORTUNE TELLER) of 10, and 2,000 a considered size of s.f.

Using datasets of I vary thousand factors and applying those factors to the four basic improvements in energy efficiency, the investigators modeled 72,000 operations DOE-2 to characterize the impacts in two zones of the climate, and eight cities in the region of the coast of the gulf affected. This that modeled provided the line of bottom for a cover unit to unifamiliar of “level vanilla” in the three states the 29 of August of 2005, because the comparison of four improvements of the energy efficiency.

RESULTS

The considered number of the homes that required the demolition and the reconstruction has considered to be as much as 2,1 million unifamiliares homes. According to the mentioned thing, this study modeled only those completely erased homes. It takes mentioning of which the valuations of costs to construct new homes with these improvements are due to only consider the estimations. The cost of materials, of differences of regional costs of work, the value of the money, the cost of electricity or gas, and many other factors could affect these costs of building and therefore, the simple estimations of the period of reimbursement.

With that negation in mind, in terms of “cost to increase”, panorama 4 demonstrated to be the more expensive initial investment, in $6.003 by home. This initial cost put the period of simple reimbursement approximately 12,5 years. When this period of reimbursement is considered yet within the context of a mortgage of 30 years, that return-in-investment appears more favorable. Most of the following expensive improvement it was panorama 3 (STAR of the ENERGY) in a cost $2,754 by home. The panorama of the STAR of the ENERGY had a fast reimbursement yet much more that panorama (the best 4 practices) or the less expensive option, panorama 2 (IECC 2006). The period of simple reimbursement for panorama 3 (STAR of the ENERGY) was hardly 7,5 years.

Little expensive option was panorama 2, IECC 2006. This option cost $1,511 considered to increase the home, paid behind the initial investment in 8.5 years yet. The fastest return-in-investment was found to be the fast scheme of the reimbursement skirted in panorama 1. The initial investment of $527 inside paid itself hardly on 2 years. Nevertheless, due to the deficiency of the considerations of on and of the isolation, the panorama of the “fast reimbursement” is not recommended for the reconstruction.

Recommendations

For the reconstruction of the coast of the gulf, the opportunity to construct economic unifamiliares homes of energy is clear: a “right reconstruction” will have long term advantages to the owners of a house, to the local utilities, the region, and the nation. For the owners of one it marries, the constructive homes that they have you exceed tight, the good isolation, the appropriate windows, and the economic equipment of energy will reduce their monthly accounts of the energy and will increase to the comfort and the health of the renters. The advantage of the reduced accounts of the energy cannot be minimisada. In present Mississippi, 34% of the rent of house pay the mortgage. The cost high second-more is accounts of the energy.

Then some regions rise to the accounts of the energy of the consumer, are defied that others. For example, a study in Carolina of the North found that of each 100 connections it sold, 20 was recovered. The problem was not the costs of the mortgage that were too high, something, the problem was that the monthly power costs

The fragility of the rents of house in the region of the coast of the gulf makes certainly a part in the determination of what ought be reconstructed there. The average annual accounts of the energy for the region were around $1.200. Panorama 3 (STAR of the ENERGY) returns one more an amount higher than the panorama from the “fast reimbursement”, for example. For that reason, and other reasons, STAR 2006 of the ENERGY is the threshold recommended for the reconstruction. That is to say, it must not have home of the family reconstructed with the financing government-attended that is not satisfied to the STAR of the ENERGY for the new guidelines of the homes, like minimum.

OTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE ELEGANT OPTIONS OF THE ENERGY

Reduction of the load

The period of simple reimbursement for each panorama of the reconstruction was calculated (based on savings for general use annual incrementales of the account) without the consideration of the prices increasing of electricity (that increased 3,3% in this region in the last year) or raised of the prices of crude petroleum (that rose 64% of the last year). In the recommended panorama (STAR of the ENERGY), 713 considered MW would be avoided annually, rough equal to a Hartsville portion, Carolina of the South of the plant of atomic energy. The increasing advantages in the savings for the local electrical power stations, and the environmental advantages (in a already-defied region) would be reduced gases of the conservatory under the equivalent CO2 form to clear 51,221 cars of the ways. And for each 1 avoided MW, one saves $1 million considered, and the similar savings are attainable in reduced costs of distribution.

A health better

As the reconstruction of the coast of the gulf continues, constructing to economic homes of energy through STAR 2006 of the ENERGY for the new guidelines of the homes (along with the guidelines of interior of the package of the air that is piloted) asegurarte of which the renters of these new homes will pass less in doctor-related problems and costs of molding-remediación associate of length to poor techniques of the hot climate construction, humid. When the consideration that the atmospheric contamination of interior is responsible for a death every 20 seconds, and that the economic impacts of the interior contamination have been considered in billion dollars per year, happening little in each home to more avoid these costs is lived affluent money.

THE FEDERAL PREMISES LEVERAGING, STATE, AND PROGRAMS OR FISCAL INCENTIVES

Owners of a house of Luisiana

The owners of a house in Luisiana can have access to the homemade program of the option of the reduction of the energy of Luisiana (HERO), to the homemade program of the loan of the energy (AID), to the exemption of the territorial contribution, or to the qualified program of the allocation plan (QAP) to reconstruct fiscal aid or incentives. The program of the HERO generally only requires that the homes are constructed 30% better than the 1995 MEC, a old fashioned standard; and its amounts of the aid of the cash to a prize of the energy efficiency up to $2.000. The program of the AID, a program of the department of Luisiana of natural resources, disables owner of a house to participate in the program of the HERO and to a great extent consists of loans of the improvements the home to carry out power improvements to the existing homes.

The department of the natural resources (DNR) offers to finance half of the improvements in the interest of 2%, until a maximum of $6,000 in the portion of DNR. The exemptions of the territorial contribution are available for the homemade equipment occupied by the owner who is economic of energy. The QAP program grants points to the projects that include economic products of energy, including windows, doors, the HVAC, and applications.

The government must make these budgets available for the palancada one in the efforts of reconstruction.

Owners of a house of Mississippi

The owners of a house of Mississippi can have access to the classified homes energy of the program of Mississippi or the green program of the partners of the generation of the switch to reconstruct aid. In the previous one, five levels of energy efficiency occur to the homes, based on the uniform system of the degree of the energy. The advantages to the owners of a house are confused. The green program of the partners of the generation of the switch, a program under authority of the valley of Tennessee (TVA) and distributors who participate. Under this program, they offer the owners of a house an option dual-measurer. The owners of a house can generate the energy again, feeding excess the grid. TVA will buy the whole exit of a qualifying system and the owner of a house receives the credit for the generated energy.

The government must make these budgets available for the palancada one in the efforts of reconstruction.

Owners of a house of Alabama

The owners of a house of Alabama can have access to the program of the credit of the tax on the rent, to the program of Grant of the state, or to the qualified program of the plan of allocation (QAP) for the incentives of the credit of the reconstruction or of tax. The owners of a house of Alabama can receive generally a credit of the tax on the rent to turn their main power plant for a home to the reanudables power resources (to only warm up). The program of Grant of the state goes to a great extent in the projects of the biomass for the industrial and commercial companies; and he is confused if the government considers reconstructing of residential areas like program of the “government” who would be elegible to use this program. Mainly, the program not above gives aid under the form of loans with the types of interest the one than 2% on the preferential rate (with the Maxima amount of the payment of the subvention with interest not to exceed $75,000). The QAP program grants the points for the projects that promote the conservation of energy exceeding the standards the advice of the code model of the energy of the American civil employees of the building (MEC).

The government must make these budgets available for the palancada one in the efforts of reconstruction.

The federal legislation that aid to owners of one marries in the three states

The most effective tool of the financing available for the owners of one marries in all the regions of the coast of the gulf affected by the hurricane can be found in the recent federal legislation of the government of the E.E.U.U. The 8 of August of 2005, the act of the power policy of 2005 was decreed. This law includes the several sections related to heightening the use of the energy of citizens and the industry. Between the act the components are credits of tax for the energy efficiency. If the owners of a house throughout the coast of the gulf choose to construct energy efficiently, will receive incentives to do so. They were the owners of a house to construct to 2006 ENERGYSTAR for the new homes that recommend the guidelines, owners of a house could receive fiscal incentives. Desemejante of the state or the local programs (mentioned above), the federal allocation of the budget is substantial: $50 million per year with FY2008.

For the constructors of new homes, the act of the power policy of 2005 (section 1332) provides a credit up to $2,000 for a home that at least saves compared 50% to the code of 2004 IECC, and $1,000 for a ENERGYSTAR made the home. The applicable dates for these incentives are civil years 2006 and 2007.

For the owners of existing homes, the act of the power policy of 2005 (section 1333) includes a credit for the owners of a house for 10% of the cost to install the components of on of the building constant with the IECC code. There is no required certification. The credits are in favor available of civil years 2006 and 2007.

The credit of homemade tax has a cover by the socket of the house of $500 to reimburse to owners of a house for the following costs: