Owens Adair, an affordable-housing historic building in downtown Astoria, enhanced resident comfort and decreased operating costs with a few cost-effective solutions.

By installing steam traps, thermostatic radiator valves, LEDs and free in-unit instant savings upgrades, Owens Adair saves an estimated $8,400 per year.

“The population of this property is all elderly and disabled,” says Todd Johnston, executive director of Northwest Oregon Housing Authority. “These upgrades help each resident control the temperature of their unit. The residents have reported increased comfort in their units, and any energy savings we can provide to our residents is huge to them.”

Before making the decision to take these energy-saving steps, the property managers received a free Energy Trust walkthrough survey which helped identified energy-saving opportunities that qualified for Energy Trust cash incentives. “Being a small nonprofit, these energy upgrades would have cost us quite a bit,” says Johnston. “Having the cash incentives was a big help for us to get the project started.”