Back in the spring officials at the Empire State Building announced that they would give the famous building a full-blown $20 million energy efficiency retrofit, which would pay for itself in just a few years' time.  Quarterbacked by the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls Inc., the Rocky Mountain Institute and Jones Lang LaSalle, the announcement made headlines worldwide: one of the 20th century's greatest monuments would be taking a leadership role in the 21st.
 
Old news? Nope. As the project gets underway, (and as winter approaches, and we start thinking about drafts, heating bills and, wink wink, air sealing and insulation), the project is as instructive as ever.  The team in charge of the ESB retrofit understand that it's more than a publicity stunt. It's an economically smart, environmentally responsible move, and will save an estimated $4.4 million a year in energy costs.  Now, think about the effect a comparable upgrade could have on your home: getting a good start would require a lighting upgrade, one or two programmable thermostats, some air sealing, maybe some beefed up insulation, and a couple smart power strips to cut vampire energy.  Compared to the imaginable hurdles in the Empire State Building, that doesn't seem so bad.
 
So to get you thinking about what you could do to upgrade your Imperial Castle this fall, we thought we'd go ahead and share this video from the WSJ.  Not only does it offer a concise reminder of the tremendous ambition of the project, but provides an insightful synopsis of its even more tremendous importance - not only for the folks working in the building, but for you and me:  
 

Talk about stack effect!