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Drew Ballensky is general manager of Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.’s central U.S. facility in Iowa and company spokesman for Duro-Last’s cool roofing, sustainability and architectural education programs. He is past-president of the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association and chairman of CFFA’s Vinyl Roofing Division. Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from the University of Northern Iowa and master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University. Drew has over 29 years experience in business and industry in various engineering and managerial capacities. He has worked in the U.S. and Canadian operations for a major international manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings, was a financial analyst with a major athletic apparel manufacturer and was an owner of a general contracting company.

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The best times to do major energy retrofits

February 16, 2011

Certain situations provide optimal conditions for a wholesale retrofit of a building to increase energy efficiency. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute [http://www.rmi.org/rmi/], aligning a deep energy retrofit with one or more of these 10 scenarios [http://www.retrofitdepot.org/TimingDeepEnergyRetrofit_More] provides the best bang for the buck and added convenience for owners and/or tenants: 1. Redevelopment or market repositioning of the building 2. Roof, window, or siding replacement 3. End- (or near-end-) of-life HVAC, lighting, or other major equipment replacement 4. Upgrades required to meet code 5. New owner or refinancing making funds available for retrofit 6. Major occupancy change 7. Owner or tenant-driven desire for green certification 8. Availability of large utility incentives 9. Fixing an “energy hog” with large utility bills that makes retrofit economical without any other factors 10. Ongoing energy management plan across building portfolio


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