Western Home Communities Earns Energy Award

Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2019

Western Home Communities is the recipient of the 2019 CFU Energy Conservation Award this year as part of the Cedar Falls Business and Industry Appreciation Awards.

The award recognizes their effort in energy efficiency at their newly constructed residential
community Prairie Wind and the Grosse Wellness and Aquatic Center.

As part of the CFU cost-sharing rebate program, Western Home Communities partnered with CFU to complete a life-cycle cost analysis. The goal was to determine the most efficient way to heat and cool the facilities.

The total cost of all options were analyzed, going beyond purchase price to include maintenance expenses and energy savings.

One solution for this project was a geothermal pump that uses water from the ground to heat or cool the aquatic center. This space had the highest energy demand.

Due to the life-cycle cost analysis and energy saving solutions implemented, the Western Home Communities will save 2,144,977 total kilowatt hours annually. That is enough energy to power 200 Cedar Falls homes for one year.

Projects like this are one way CFU works with the community to reduce energy consumption and keep utility costs low.

In the last decade CFU has added nearly 2,000 electric customers. Yet demand for electricity today is even with levels from 2008. Reduced energy consumption means we can delay the need to buy expensive new generating capacity and keep costs low for our customers.

To learn more about our residential and commercial cost-sharing rebate program visit cfu.net/save-energy.