Vornado Realty Trust is spearheading a groundbreaking retrofit at 1 Pennsylvania Plaza (PENN 1) in New York City, aiming to reach 100% carbon neutrality by 2040. This ambitious project is part of the company’s broader commitment to environmental sustainability, as outlined in their Vision 2030. PENN 1, a towering landmark in midtown Manhattan, stands at 57 stories and spans approximately 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space. Constructed in 1972, the building is a key component of THE PENN DISTRICT, Vornado’s flagship property cluster.
The roadmap to carbon neutrality at PENN 1 includes advanced waterside heat recovery measures. This strategy focuses on capturing and reusing heat from the building’s condenser water loop, a method that not only reduces heating loads but also facilitates a subsequent transition to electrification through air-source heat pumps and thermal storage. The PENN 1 project demonstrates a ‘thermal dispatch model,’ in which carbon-free energy sources are gradually deployed to fulfill the heating and cooling demands of a large commercial building.
By adopting this innovative approach, Vornado aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of PENN 1 while also setting a replicable model for building decarbonization in New York City. This initiative underscores Vornado’s role as a leader in sustainable real estate development, with a portfolio that includes over 34 million square feet of premier assets across New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Through Vision 2030, Vornado’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and a 50% site energy reduction reflects their dedication to pioneering sustainable solutions in the urban landscape.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
The project team initially explored two packages of combined reduction measures to assess the impact of eliminating fossil fuels and electrifying the building’s heating end uses. Individual measures studied earlier in the project were selected and combined with additional infrastructure enhancements to develop two electrification packages summarized as follows:
The thermal dispatch approach utilized at PENN 1 allows the building to intelligently prioritize low-carbon thermal resources for operational building needs ahead of those that are more carbon intensive. This strategy, enabled by electrification of heating loads and heat recovery measures, will reduce energy use by 22% and carbon emissions by 38% by 2030.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
Reduce Energy Load
Recover Wasted Heat
Partial Electrification:
Full Electrification:
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Capital costs of decarbonization (est. in 2025 $).
Energy cost savings (2026–2050 [25 yrs]): 3.56M.
Repairs and maintenance savings: 99k.
BAU cost of system replacement/upgrades: 2.7M.
Residual cost (remaining equipment value): 764k.
LL97 fines avoided starting in 2030.
Incentives.
Net difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
The Vornado team has gained countless lessons-learned on their decarbonization planning journey. The following are essential insights from the project team:
Insights from the energy model
The predictive energy model revealed that while the renovations to the building will yield significant energy and carbon reductions, the energy consumption from tenant spaces, such as computer and plug loads, must also be significantly reduced and intelligently managed to drive down the carbon intensity of the building (and reduce/eliminate exposure to LL97 through the 2030 compliance period).
While every effort was made to ensure that the model reflects the design team’s best understanding of the building’s existing conditions and future usage, the modeled energy consumption, energy cost, and carbon emission estimates will likely vary from the actual energy, cost, and carbon of the building after construction. This is due to variables such as weather, occupancy, building operation and maintenance, changes in energy rates, changes in carbon emission coefficients, and energy uses not covered by the modeling scope.
Underscoring the importance of an iterative design process
In the first iteration of the decarbonization strategy, the Vornado team approached the project with an all-or-nothing electrification mindset. They found that the strategies that achieve the deepest levels of decarbonization through fully eliminating district steam and co-generation waste heat as heating sources may not be practical nor cost efficient to implement in such a complex existing building. So, they went back to the drawing board.
In the second iteration of the project, a more holistic strategy emphasizing the following core principles was developed:
Resource Efficient Electrification framework: With these guiding principles, the Vornado team developed a new strategy that follows the Resource Efficient Decarbonization Framework, which JB&B refers to as “Reduce, Recycle, Electrify”. Phasing, cost compression, and space compression were prioritized so that measures are more likely to be installed and scaled to other Vornado properties.
Key takeaways on the broader decarbonization decision-making process
As a partner of the Empire Building Challenge, BXP will complete a decarbonization pilot project at 601 Lexington Avenue. The 1.52 million square foot, 59-story, multi-tenant premier workplace in midtown Manhattan was constructed in 1977 and features building systems typical among commercial high-rises of a similar vintage. The innovative measures planned for implementation demonstrate a scalable and replicable decarbonization opportunity within a difficult-to-decarbonize building type.
As part of their demonstration project, BXP will install water-to-water heat pumps to transfer heat from the condenser water loop to secondary water systems. Recovered heat will then be used to offset perimeter heating loads. By deploying existing technology in a novel way, this project creates a thermal network which utilizes heat that would otherwise be rejected to the atmosphere from the building’s cooling system. BXP will reduce the building’s annual steam consumption by over 30% with this innovative thermal system.
BXP is a fully integrated real estate investment trust and is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the U.S. with a portfolio spanning 54.5 million square feet.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
BXP is committed to carbon-neutrality by 2025 for its actively managed occupied office buildings. Starting in 2010, BXP adopted a phased approach with a long-term goal of achieving low site energy use and reducing GHG emissions at 601 Lexington Ave. Compared to a 2010 baseline, BXP has reduced the building’s GHG Emissions by 47% and site EUI by 33%. The notable reduction in energy use was achieved through a series of targeted energy efficiency measures, including a building automation system upgrade, installation of Variable Speed Drives on all major HVAC equipment pumps and fans, lighting upgrades, modernization of the central chiller plant (replacing steam chillers with high efficiency variable speed electric chillers), and optimization of operational controls.
To accelerate decarbonization efforts, the next phase of retrofit projects should be geared to reduce district steam consumption within the building. This initiative aligns with BXP’s decarbonization strategy and energy efficiency objectives and positions the building on a path towards full compliance with Local Law 97.
The heat recovery project focuses on minimizing the dependence on district steam, a fossil-fuel sourced commodity. This project demonstrates a replicable decarbonization solution in existing commercial high-rise buildings and joins a list of energy conservation measures already deployed at the property.
To compare the energy and carbon reduction impact of the measure on a business-as-usual scenario, a comprehensive energy analysis was performed to establish a baseline operation and compare alternatives. The effort included review of existing HVAC systems, electrical infrastructure, space constraints, submetering of heating and cooling loads, potential for energy recovery to offset heat loads, and evaluation of energy use and costs.
The detailed energy analysis indicated a considerable reduction in energy and GHG emissions compared to baseline energy use and significant utility savings per year.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
The project at 601 Lexington Avenue will deploy existing technology in a novel way, creating a thermal network that recovers and utilizes heat which is otherwise rejected by the cooling towers.
Through NYSERDA’s Empire Building Challenge, BXP will install water source heat pumps (WSHPs) that will capture waste heat from the condenser water loop. The recovered heat will be reused into the building’s perimeter heating.
Currently, the building condenser water system carries heat from base building and tenant cooling systems to the cooling towers, where it is rejected evaporatively to the atmosphere. In office buildings, this heat is often constant and available for recovery year-round. In the proposed measure, WSHPs will be installed. They will replace the function of the cooling towers during the heating season and will reclaim heat from the condenser water loop for beneficial use. An automated bypass valve will divert condenser water from the cooling towers, retaining as much heat in the building as possible for recovery by the WSHPs. The heat recovered will be reused in the building’s heating systems and will significantly offset reliance on fossil fuel-based steam. These measures will reduce annual steam consumption by an estimated 30%.
These measures partially electrify building heat sources while recovering waste heat for beneficial re-use. This results in reduced energy consumption and enhanced demand management. These measures are replicable for existing buildings, designed to be both space-efficient and cost-effective.
In addition to the WSHPs, air source heat pumps (ASHPs) may be installed in the future to produce low-temperature hot water to cover some of the remaining heating loads. The project team plans to continue investigating ASHP infrastructure within the physical space constraints of this occupied building to minimize reliance on steam heating.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Capital costs of decarbonization.
Energy cost savings: 287k / YR.
Repairs & maintenance savings: 25k / YR.
LL97 avoidance from 2030-2034.
No fines in 2035+ assuming electric grid coefficient aligns with CLCPA goals.
Incentives.
Pursuing ConEd Rebates through the Clean Heat Rebate Program.
Net difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
To advance the building’s broad decarbonization objectives, and through the reduce, recycle, electrify approach, the team studied energy and carbon emission reduction pathways for 601 Lexington Avenue through a robust, collaborative process with multiple stakeholders.
The decarbonization projects require a phase-in plan and a multi-step approach, which includes technical analysis, detailed design, procurement, and implementation. The preliminary technical analysis for the decarbonization roadmap was performed in Q4 of 2022 as part of the Empire Building Challenge application. The first phase of the decarbonization roadmap is the Condenser Water Heat Recovery project, which received NYSERDA funding through the Empire Building Challenge. The full design (DD and CD) of this project was completed in 2023 and construction is expected to be complete in 2025.
On-site decarbonization efforts may be furthered in a subsequent second phase implemented in 2034 with electrification of heating and DHW through air source heat pumps. It is anticipated that the heat pump technology and pricing will continue to improve; because of that, the energy and GHG reductions reflected in the carbon neutrality roadmap below are conservative estimates. As an interim phase, starting in 2025, the building will achieve Carbon Neutral Operations for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by offsetting them through a combination of renewable energy and carbon credits procurements.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Lessons from New York’s Empire Building Challenge
This article, published in NESEA’s BuildingEnergy magazine (Vol. 40 No. 1), addresses common “decarbonization blind spots” that impede progress and shares insights gained from the incremental methodology and integrated design process pioneered through NYSERDA’s Empire Building Challenge.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Large commercial and residential buildings must overcome various hurdles before implementing deep retrofits or capital projects that help achieve building decarbonization. This section addresses technical barriers and questions often faced by building owners and retrofit project developers.
Below are high temperature renewable resource alternatives to district steam. These alternatives are limited and face barriers to implementation due to cost, scalability, and other factors.
Building Electric Capacity Upgrades
Local Network Electric Capacity Upgrades
Gas Utility Earnings Adjustment Mechanisms (EAM) focused on System Peak Demand Reductions
Total Connected Loads and Peak Demand drive need for capacity upgrades
Thermal Storage
Geothermal (ambient temperature), Deep Bore Geothermal (high temperature) or Shared Loop District Energy Systems provide cooling and heating with lower peak demand than standard electric equipment
Other Energy Efficiency/Conservation Measures with proven/attractive economics (these measures are limited by lack of capital or knowledge)
Behavioral Modification
Submetering and billing, potentially creates split incentive between landlord and tenant
These include multi-purpose technology for heating, cooling, heat exchange and ventilation, filtration, and/or domestic hot water.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
These playbooks summarize retrofit strategies that maximize occupant comfort and energy savings through a transition from fuel to electricity- based heating, cooling and hot water systems.
Playbooks are organized by building system— lighting & loads, envelope, ventilation, heating & cooling, and domestic hot water– detailing common existing systems, typical issues, and recommended measures.
59-17 Junction Boulevard, developed by LeFrak Commercial, highlights the crucial intersection between decarbonization and resiliency. The 454,645 square foot, 20-story commercial property located in Queens, NY was built in 1970 and features an inefficient 2-pipe heating and cooling system that has reached the end of its useful life, due in part to damage sustained by Hurricane Ida.
As part of their participation in the Empire Building Challenge, LeFrak will complete a significant decarbonization project valued at $19.7 million, resulting in the overall reduction of onsite fossil fuels by 2035. The measures aim to electrify and recover heat of thermal loads at the property, immediately reducing site energy use by over 33% from a 2021 baseline.
LeFrak is a preeminent, family-owned property company that owns and manages an extensive portfolio of real property concentrated in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, as well as South Florida, Los Angeles, and throughout the West Coast.
25.1 million
Total project investment to install retrofits enabling electrification and heat recovery of thermal loads at the property and reduce site energy use intensity by 33%.
Replacing fuel-fired absorption chillers with modular heat pump electric chillers enhances heating and cooling capabilities.
“LeFrak is proud to work in partnership with NYSERDA and the Empire Building Challenge to advance the real estate industry’s ability to decarbonize high-rise buildings. We recognize the importance of leading the path to carbon neutrality and are committed to working together to rethink our building environment.”
John Fitzsimmons
Senior Director, Head of Commercial Property Management
LeFrak Commercial
Installation of heat exchangers and critical re-piping enables the core and perimeter of the building to operate independently and provides heat recovery.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
The plan for decarbonization was developed with short- and long-term needs in mind and was prompted by heating and cooling equipment that has reached the end of its useful life, due in part to damage sustained by Hurricane Ida. This project highlights the intersection between decarbonization and resiliency, in which necessary upgrades can be leveraged to integrate low-carbon solutions and safeguard critical building systems from future climate impacts. The immediate capital work, slated for 2024-2025, has been structured to facilitate the elimination of on-site fossil fuel consumption by the end of the 2035 decarbonization period, with careful consideration given to constructability, importance of tenant disruption, and financial implications.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
This diagram illustrates the building prior to the initiation of Strategic Decarbonization planning by the owners and their teams.
Click through the measures under “Building After” to understand the components of the building’s energy transition.
Reduce Energy Load
Recover Wasted Heat
The existing, inefficient 2-pipe system, which only allows the building to be in heating or cooling mode, will be re-piped to create two separate hydronic zones. This will allow the newly independent loops of the building to exchange rejected heat from the core to the perimeter zone as needed. This piping work will incorporate heat exchangers to possibly connect with adjacent buildings also owned by LeFrak that are mostly residential and create a community thermal network to share loads.
Partial Electrification
Beginning in 2024, the existing fossil fuel driven plant will be decommissioned, and a new plant that enables decarbonization will be installed, including modular electric heat pump chillers with cooling and future heating capabilities.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
Capital costs of Empire Building Challenge funded decarbonization measures: 9.7M.
Capital costs of other renovation work: 15.4M.
Energy cost savings: 8.5k / YR.
BAU cost of system replacement/upgrades (replacement in kind (non-electric chiller, estimated): 10.7M.
Avoided LL97 fines starting in 2030.
Empire Building Challenge Incentives: 3M.
Other incentives: 500k.
Net difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a period of time.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
Due to external project requirements, this project had a particularly compressed implementation timeline compared to other decarbonization projects. The team evaluated various replacement options over the existing systems to reduce carbon emissions: at the end of the EBC Technical Assistance Phase, ownership reviewed the financial and technical analyses of the decarbonization roadmap options, ultimately deciding to electrify the cooling plant and enable heat recovery from the core zone to the perimeter zone. The central plant work meets the building’s immediate needs, while increasing the resilience of the central plant and allowing for future flexibility and decarbonization efforts.
On-site work to upgrade the central plants has already begun and will continue into 2025. This work includes:
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
The Empire Technology Prize is a $10 million competitive opportunity for global solution providers focused on advancing building technologies for low-carbon heating system retrofits in tall commercial and multifamily buildings across New York State. This NYSERDA initiative, administered by The Clean Fight with technical support from Rocky Mountain Institute, includes a $3 million sponsorship from Wells Fargo. Accelerating low-carbon building retrofits is fundamental to New York State’s national-leading Climate Act agenda, including the goal to achieve an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
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:
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
These case studies cover projects that will dramatically reduce carbon emissions with deep energy retrofits for affordable multifamily housing in the Boston area. Deep energy retrofits dramatically reduce carbon emissions. These renovations transform affordable housing to be highly energy efficient, all-electric, powered by clean renewable energy, and renovated with materials low in embodied carbon. These projects are part of the Advanced Building Construction Collaborative’s demand aggregation. This work aims to demonstrate streamlined deep energy retrofits and retrofits using advanced building construction techniques to accelerate the adoption of this work in the market.
A baseline assessment is key to understanding current systems and performance, then identifying conditions, requirements or events that will trigger a decarbonization effort. The assessment looks across technical systems, asset strategy and sectoral factors.
Effective engineering integrates measures for reducing energy load, recovering wasted heat, and moving towards partial or full electrification. This increases operational efficiencies, optimizes energy peaks, and avoids oversized heating systems, thus alleviating space constraints and minimizing the cost of retrofits to decarbonize the building over time.
Making a business case for strategic decarbonization requires thinking beyond a traditional energy audit approach or simple payback analysis. It assesses business-as-usual costs and risks against the costs and added value of phased decarbonization investments in the long-term.
An emissions decarbonization roadmap helps building owners visualize their future emissions reductions by outlining the CO2 reductions from selected energy conservation measures. This roadmap is designed with a phased approach, considering a 20- or 30-year timeline, and incorporates the evolving benefits of grid decarbonization, ensuring a comprehensive view of long-term environmental impact.
The Empire Technology Prize team has produced the New York State Market Insight and Characterization report, which explores the technical challenges posed by achieving efficient decarbonization of heating systems and explores alternatives in two focus areas: high temperature heat pumps, and minimally disruptive distribution system solutions.
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