Financial Planning

High Rise / Low Carbon Event Series: Financing Deep Retrofits

Short term return-on-investment calculations are a frequent barrier to better performing buildings, leaving the many benefits of decarbonization out of reach for building occupants and exposing owners and investors to the future risks of holding a stranded asset. Future proofing buildings from anticipated regulations–from carbon emissions to human health–requires longer term thinking and innovative financing models.

A number of organizations are undertaking processes that account for the net-present-value of retrofit measures, and are benefitting from new tools that allow comparisons of various phasing options. 

During this High Rise / Low Carbon series program developed to support the Empire Building Challenge and other NYSERDA programs, panelists will discuss exploring how to move beyond simple payback analysis to allow value over time to guide decisions and enable the efficient phasing of building improvements, which will hugely enhance comfort and health while also meeting the goals of our City and State climate action plans.

Opening Remarks

Greg Hale, Senior Advisor for Energy Efficiency Markets, NYSERDA

Moderator

Sadie McKeown, President, Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)

Panelists/Presenters

Lane Burt, Managing Principal, Ember Strategies
Grayson Hoffmann, Investment Manager, Norges Bank Investment Management
Erangi Dias, Director of Business Development, NYCEEC
David Davenport, Managing Director, NY Green Bank

Closing Remarks

Sophie Cardona, Senior Project Manager, NYSERDA

Source: Building Energy Exchange

Federal Incentives

Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action

This guidebook provides an overview of the clean energy, climate mitigation and resilience, agriculture, and conservation-related tax incentives and investment programs in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, including who is eligible to apply for funding and for what activities. The Biden-Harris Administration is working quickly to design, develop, and implement these programs; as such, the information in this guidebook is current as of publication. In the coming weeks and months, we will publish new developments on www.CleanEnergy.gov to keep stakeholders and potential beneficiaries of these programs up to date on the latest deadlines and details. This guidebook does not cover the Inflation Reduction Act’s health care provisions or certain corporate tax reforms. 

Source: The White House

Strategic Decarb 101

10 Principles for Climate Mitigation Policies

This report from ULI Greenprint, prepared in partnership with USDN, serves as a starting point for cities interested in engaging real estate leaders during the shaping of climate mitigation policies, and for real estate organizations to increase their understanding of the potential impact of these policies. It provides useful tools to help city officials and those in the real estate industry engage with each other in a meaningful and ongoing way.

Each of the principles identified in this report is a distillation of recommendations identified during the Urban Land Institute’s City and Real Estate Sustainability workshops, which involved participation from more than 60 public and private sector leaders. These principles are also grounded in the context of specific best practices in cities across North America to create building-level climate mitigation policy.

Source: ULI

Assessment Tools

Intervention Points and Best Practices

Insights from Empire Building Challenge

Prioritizing Decarbonization Interventions 

While each individual building has a unique capital improvement plan and timeline, retrofit projects or decarbonization interventions may be organized and grouped by similarity as property owners plan for the future. Below is the overarching hierarchy for decarbonization intervention points according to industry best practices:

  1. Facade Upgrades
  2. Windows Upgrades
  3. Ventilation Upgrades with Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV)
  4. Maximize the reduction of distribution temperatures
  5. Maximize surface area of terminal units
  6. Supplement 90% of peak load with hybrid electrification strategies
  7. Eliminate peak load “last-mile” with innovative strategies in storage and/or thermal demand response
  • Delay replacement of gas-fired equipment with new gas-fired equipment as long as possible. Rebuild and maintain existing equipment until replacement.
  • Replace all remaining non-LED lighting and include lighting controls at the time of retrofit
  • Seal rooftop bulkhead doors and windows.
  • Add smoke-activated fire dampers or annealed glass to the elevator shaft vent grill in the elevator machine room.
  • Install algorithmic controls on top of the existing boiler control system.
  • Balance steam distribution systems:
    • Identify condensate return leaks.
    • Right-size air vents and master vents.
    • Ensure all radiators are properly draining condensate.
    • Ensure all steam traps are functioning properly.
  • Implement Radiator Efficiency and Controls Measures:
    • Install thermostatic radiator valves (TRV) where possible.
    • Install RadiatorLabs radiator cover systems where possible (integrate with algorithmic boiler control).
  • Balance air supply and ventilation systems using proper air registers, louvers, dampers, and technology like Constant Airflow Regulator (CAR) dampers:
    • Need innovative methods of balancing temperature across commercial office floors (heat shifting and sharing from one building exposure to another, e.g. north vs. south).
    • Balance air supply and return across vertical pressure gradients.
    • Seal vent stack perforations/leaks (e.g. mastic sealer).
  • Increase efficiency of pumps and motors:
    • Add VFD controllers to all pumps and motors.
    • Replace rooftop exhaust fans (e.g. mushroom fans or similar) with electronic commutated motors.
  • Implement algorithmic controls on top of existing Building Management Systems (BMS) in commercial office buildings.
  • Hybrid Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Plants: Add DHW heat pump equipment to an existing gas fired DHW plant.
    • Consider the option to direct bathroom exhaust air to DHW heat pump equipment.
  • Install Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) system.
  • Install rooftop solar.
  • Procure New York State-sourced renewable power.
  • Procure biomethane from utility via pilot program.
  • Procure renewable hydrogen blend from utility via pilot program.
  • Develop innovative means of participating in gas demand response:
    • Delay boiler firing with controls or other means.
    • Procure biodiesel blend for fuel switching requirement.
    • Thermal storage and hybrid plants (electrification)
      • DHW electrification (partial or full load)
      • Split system or PTAC partial load heating electrification
  • Add central-control compatible thermostats to apartments and office suites to control decentralized heating and cooling systems.
    • Enable aggregate demand response activity.
  • Fully electrify DHW systems:
    • Air source DHW heat pump.
    • Resistance DHW.
    • High-efficiency thermal storage.
    • Supplement with solar thermal where compatible.
  • Overlaid or insulated masonry facades with high ongoing Local Law 11 cost.
  • Eliminate uninsulated radiator cabinets/niches in exterior walls.
    • Install wall-mounted slim radiators with TRV or other controls.
    • Install RadiatorLabs technology.
  • Begin routine window replacement plan with high-performance windows.
  • Support cogeneration systems with biomethane (injection) procurement.
  • Explore hydrogen (injection) procurement to support cogeneration and centralized heating plants.
  • Develop on-site battery storage systems to manage building load profiles and reduce peak usage.
    • Integrate with an existing on-site generation where compatible.
  • Increase thermal mass/thermal inertia and expand thermal storage capacity using Phase Change Material (PCM) products. Products currently include: ceiling tiles, wall panels, AHU inserts, thermal storage tank inserts:
    • Embrace overnight free cooling.
    • Shift loads associated with thermal demand.
    • Capture and store waste heat.
  • Implement centralized or in-building distributed thermal storage systems to shift thermal loads to off-peak periods.
  • Convert low-temperature heating distribution systems to shared loop systems or geothermal systems; building distribution is already optimized for low-temperature distribution: water source heat pumps, large surface area terminal units (radiant panels, underfloor heat, fan coils, etc.)
    • Interconnect with early shared loop system phases (private or utility-led).
    • Eliminate cooling tower as a primary cooling system (may remain as a backup as feasible).
  • Where necessary, convert high-temperature heating distribution systems to low-temperature distribution systems; systems converted from fin tube to radiant panels, fan coils, or water source heat pumps as feasible.
    • The supplement heat source for hydronic heat pumps with solar thermal technology (water source heat pumps).
  • Embrace consumer products that reduce building loads and peak demand:
    • Appliances with onboard battery storage.
    • Networked smart appliances.
    • Power over Ethernet (PoE) DC-powered, low voltage products.
      • DC power distribution networks make use of on-site renewable energy and energy storage.
  • Advanced DC[1] and AC/DC hybrid Power Distribution Systems[2]
  • Install HVAC Load Reduction Technology:
    • Capture VOCs and CO2 in liquid sorbent.
    • Engage with the liquid sorbent management company to safely dispose of scrubbed gases (carbon sequestration, etc.).
    • Use buildings hosts for negative carbon technology and focusing on direct air capture to achieve larger decarbonization goals (carbon capture and sequestration)
  • Electric Distribution Upgrade Needed:
    • Begin replacement of centralized heating systems with decentralized heating and cooling systems where appropriate. Technology includes: PTAC, VTAC, ducted PTAC, VRF, and similar technology.
    • Replace stoves, ranges, and cooktops with electric equipment: resistance, convection, or induction.
    • Integrate Building Distribution with an advanced electric vehicle (EV) charging network to provide power to parked EVs and to extract power at peak periods (EV owners opt-in for reduced parking rates, other benefits, etc.).
  • Install multi-function glass during window or facade replacement:
    • Install building-integrated PV during facade retrofits.
    • PV glass.
    • Electrochromic glass.
    • Vacuum Insulated glass.
  • Install highly insulated panels at spandrels:
    • Vacuum insulated panels.
    • Aerogel insulated panels.
  • Replace cooling towers with advanced heat rejection technology:
    • Passive radiative cooling technology.
  • Interconnect with 100% hydrogen distribution network.
  • Pair advanced, on-site battery storage systems with hydrogen fuel cells.

Federal Incentives

Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)

This guidebook is a roadmap to the funding available under the law. It explains, in as much detail as currently available, how much funding is available at the program level. Our primary goal is to help our partners across the country know what to apply for, who to contact for help, and how to get ready to rebuild. We have also published an accompanying data file on Build.gov that allows users to quickly sort programs funded under the law by fields like agency, amount, eligible recipient, or program name. 

Source: The White House

Tenant Resources

Occupiers and Owners: Faster and Further on the Pathway to Decarbonisation Together

This report, produced by Urban Land Institute’s C Change program, illustrates how lack of alignment on decarbonization approaches between property owners and occupiers is hindering progress to decarbonize and has the potential to increase emissions in the medium- to long-term. These findings underscore the need for stronger partnerships and closer collaboration between occupiers and owners. 

Source: ULI

Engineering Solutions

Urban Green Council’s Grid Ready Report


Urban Green Council’s Grid Ready: Powering NYC’s All Electric Buildings 2021 report sheds light on how power is delivered to NYC, examines how heat pumps will change electricity demand in buildings, and shows how electrification can be rolled out to carefully manage increasing demand. Additionally, their interactive Grid Ready Mapping Tool allows users to visualize how power demand will grow as fossil fuel heating systems are replaced with electric heat pumps.

Source: Urban Green Council 

Assessment Tools

Kicking Off Decarbonization Projects

The goal of the kickoff phase is to set the team up for a successful decarbonization project. In this early stage, project teams should come to consensus on the following: 

  • Energy and emissions reduction targets 
  • Desired economic outcomes 
  • The project workplan, schedule, and key milestones
  • Required skills and capacities
  • Gaps in expertise and who will be brought onboard to fill them 

A critical outcome of this phase is building trust through shared goals and open, honest dialog about the building’s current state and what the building owner hopes to achieve through the project. In addition to building consensus and understanding with external consultants and service providers, aligning goals across the building owner’s various internal divisions is a necessity.  Senior management must set a tone that celebrates opportunities for continued improvement across finance, asset management, operations, and on-site staff.   

At the end of this phase, the team should have a clear understanding of goals, a well-defined work plan with key milestones, clear roles, and the beginnings of a trust-based relationship that will support creative problem solving.

Build the Team, Set Goals and Timeline

Inputs

To set the project up for success, a point-person from the building should be identified. This person will be responsible for setting expectations with the consultant team, communicating with leadership within the real estate organization, and working with the building operations team to support data collection activities.

Activities

During the kickoff phase, activities include: 

  • Identifying the team, including internal resources and external service providers.
  • Getting educated on the latest energy and carbon trends and requirements.
  • Conducting a formal kickoff meeting to set goals, define processes, and establish a project timeline.
  • Establishing a tenant engagement strategy. 

Outputs

Deliverables from this phase can take many forms, including kickoff meeting presentation slides and notes, a formal workplan, a Gantt chart, or some other means of communicating the key project objectives and milestones. The team is now ready to dive into the deep energy retrofit.

Lessons Learned & Key Considerations

  • Establish clear objectives: Outlining a clear set of objectives based on technical and economic needs specific to each building early in the process creates clarity on project workload, the types of expertise that will be needed, and the time required to complete the work.
  • Select a team that will collaborate across disciplines: Building decarbonization is a multifaced and challenging effort. The team should comprise members who are eager to work and collaborate across disciplines. 
  • Include the building operations staff: Understanding the nuances of how the building operates is an important part of the investigation and energy modeling phases of the project. Include the building Chief Engineer and key operating personnel in the kickoff meeting and other key milestones. 
  • Engage tenants: Beyond the immediate team, it is important to consider how and when to engage the building tenants. Even with the most efficient equipment, a building will not achieve deep energy and carbon reductions without tenant buy-in and action.  
  • Connect with contractors, equipment manufacturers and subject-matter experts: Secondary support from these groups can often be very helpful because they bring additional expertise and a different perspective from those in the core project team.

Federal Incentives

Clean Energy Tax Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act includes some two dozen tax provisions that will save families money on their energy bills and accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean vehicles, clean buildings, and clean manufacturing. The table linked here (last updated September 21, 2023) provides the key information about these tax provisions and links to the latest announcements related to their implementation.

Source: The White House

Engineering Solutions

High Rise / Low Carbon Event Series: Sharing Heat

Commercial properties have long struggled with simultaneous heating and cooling needs across a single building, and even across a single floor. New models for sharing heat across building occupancies offer significant performance improvements. Some of the most successful models have been utilized in the Nordic countries for many years and are directly aligned with the Resource Efficient Decarbonization (RED) framework developed by NYSERDA, which encourages a holistic approach to decarbonization that is founded on reducing demand and sharing heat across tenants, buildings, and districts. Advancing this approach across the US market could be a critical component of meeting our climate action goals.

During this High Rise / Low Carbon series program developed to support the Empire Building Challenge and other NYSERDA programs, industry experts will feature innovative strategies for heat recovery and discuss the importance of these strategies in reducing energy waste, peak load demand, and energy cost, in line with achieving high performance retrofits of large buildings.

Opening Remarks

Susanne DesRoches, Vice President, Clean and Resilient Buildings, NYSERDA

Moderator

Molly Dee Ramasamy, Head of Deep Carbon Reduction, Jaros, Baum & Bolles

Presenters

Mike Izzo, Vice President, Carbon Strategy, Hines
Elizabeth Moronta, Senior Vice President of Development, Omni New York LLC
Adam Friedberg, Principal, Buro Happold
Miguel Gaspar, Vice President/Group Leader, Loring Consulting Engineers
Samuel Long, Innovation Specialist, Danfoss

Source: Building Energy Exchange