Willys Overland Lofts

In January 2017, WOL formed the Willy’s Sustainability Committee with four objectives: 1) Analyze building energy usage; 2) Make recommendations on energy improvements; 3) Manage bid process for energy improvement projects; and 4) Make recommendations on recycling/reuse. Since establishment, the Committee has met quarterly to tackle different aspects of energy improvements. This began with low hanging fruit, like partnering with DTE to have energy audits in all units. This resulted in the installation of motion sensors on common area lighting. Their first big project was the installation of a 94.4 kWh rooftop solar, which was enough to offset 50% of the common area consumption. The project went live in 2019 after over a year of planning. While this is before the study period, their net metering bill relied heavily on estimated solar outflows until December 2022. The solar array also allowed them to have the capacity to install more EV chargers in June 2022. The team at WOL accomplished a plethora of projects over the 2022-2023 timespan, which include the following:

• March 2022 – Canfield Garage Door Repair. Temperatures in the garage were stabilized and optimized after upgrading the garage doors to reduce the number of times the doors would get stuck partially open, letting warm air out in the process.
• June 2022 – The storms of June 2021 revealed a need for masonry repair. They finished tuckpointing a year later.
• June 2022 – Activated 18 EV Chargers. EV drivers were asked to charge during the day to take advantage of the solar energy generated onsite to decrease usage of grid energy. 
• August 2022 – South Garage Door Repair.
• December 2022 – WOL worked with their utility company to get the solar energy outflow readings to be more accurate. Previously, there was a lag between the estimated reading and the actual reading.
• May 2022 through December 2023 – WOL optimized the temperatures in the common hallways by defining temperature heating/cooling control standards and setting the thermostats accordingly. They optimized the stairwell heater controls so that they were not running longer than necessary. Additionally, they made repairs to all common area HVAC units to ensure they were running optimally and kept up on all preventive maintenance.
• April 2023 – North Garage Door Repair. 
• August 2023 – WOL upgraded garage remotes and reprogrammed the doors open/close timing so that doors were only open for the required amount of time which affected heat efficiency.

When asked what the most notable part of the whole process was WOL responded that it was the Solar and EV installations – “and MPSC’s Great Customer Service!” As noted earlier, they resolved accuracy issues solar outflow billing net metering in December 2022. They also wanted to say a special thanks to Julie Baldwin, Director of Energy Operations at the Michigan Public Service Commission. She helped identify the best people to work with at their utility to fix their bill – their utility had to dig in and fix the issue by using a boosted signal and installing a separate meter. 

After installing the EVs, WOL looked into options for reducing water usage. They surveyed the toilets in the building and determined that they were already sufficiently efficient. They then looked into submetering water, but that was cost prohibitive. This past year they looked at alternatives to their existing ground cover on their front lawn by using native grasses. In anticipation of having their parking lot resurfaced, they had an engineer determine the utility of a permeable surface. At the time it was not cost effective with existing incentives, but they expect that in the near future, it would be.