Housing support programs operated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized 5.7 million - or approximately one-third - of all rental multi-family units in 2000, the most recent year for which this data is available.1 These programs include direct ownership of public housing units, tax credits and interest subsidies to public and private owners, and vouchers that provide subsidized rent for low-income families. (Note: The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is not a HUD Housing Program.)
In 2000, HUD public housing, Section 236 projects, and Section 8 housing programs contained over 4.5 million units nationally as shown in Figure 2. In 2005, the number of units increased to over 5.6 million.1
In the Gulf Coast Region, HUD-assisted housing units accounted for 30% of the total multi-family housing units in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Table 3 shows the breakdown of this unit type by state.
Table 3. Total Number of HUD-Assisted Housing Units in the Gulf Coast Region, 2005
| Louisiana |
108,353 |
165,818 |
65% |
| Oklahoma |
64,466 |
136,779 |
47% |
| Texas |
329,361 |
1,376,363 |
24% |
Energy Use Overview
In any single year, HUD assists more than five million renters and homeowners—approximately 5 percent of all housing in the nation—through its various programs. The Department spends some $4 billion each year on energy - more than 10 percent of its budget - primarily through utility allowances to renters, housing assistance payments to private building owners, and operating grants to public housing authorities.
In public housing alone, HUD spends an estimated $1.1 billion each year on utilities, either in direct operating grants or in the form of utility allowances to individual residents. According to a recent report, greater energy efficiency could conservatively save public housing at least $82 million and as much as $165 million per year. Similar savings could be achieved in HUD's inventory of assisted multifamily housing, as well as other housing financed by HUD through its formula and competitive grant programs.2
Action 20 in HUD's Energy Action Plan states:
"Promote combined heat and power (CHP) in public or assisted housing."
In response to the action plan, the department has issued two guides to assist building owners and residents of HUD-assisted buildings in understanding CHP and how they could benefit from installing a system.
CHP Potential in Public Housing and HUD-assisted Housing in the Gulf Coast Region
A recent analysis of housing projects owned and/or managed by HUD in the Gulf Coast region indicated a total of 57 public housing facilities (each with 80 or more units), and over 413 HUD-assisted facilities (each with 80 or more units) were potential candidates for CHP projects.4 The breakdown of this potential by state is shown in Table 5 below. For more information on these potential projects please contact us.
Table 5. Number of CHP Candidate Facilities in the HUD-Assisted Housing Market in the Gulf Coast Region
| Louisiana |
6 |
56 |
| Oklahoma |
19 |
94 |
| Texas |
32 |
263 |
Is My Multi-Family Building a Good Candidate for CHP?
Residential cogeneration systems work best in large buildings with heavy power demands. The buildings with the highest potential for energy savings are multi-family dwellings (approximately 100 apartments or more) that have high electrical and heating usage for 16 hours a day or more, six days a week.3
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General Guidelines for CHP Projects
In a HUD-Assisted Multi-Family Building or Public Housing Facility
- Does the building contain at least 80 units?
The economics for installing CHP currently favor buildings containing at least 100 dwelling units, but there are examples of installations in smaller buildings. Buildings that share a common boiler room can each be smaller in size (less than 150 dwelling units) and still benefit from CHP.
- Is the building's electric load master-metered/sub-metered?
A residential building that is master-metered or sub-metered by an electric utility can be a good candidate for CHP since the electric load of each apartment as well as the building's common areas (as well as the thermal load) is available to the CHP system.
- Does the building consume at least 50,000 kWh of electricity per month?
- Does the building consume at least 30,000 CCF of natural gas per year?
- Does the building contain a central laundry or pool?
- Does the building use a hot water (hydronic) or steam space-heating system?
- Does the building's existing HVAC system need to be upgraded or replaced soon?
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Case Studies
Related Resources