Session proposals we have accepted for BuildingEnergy NYC are listed below. Full conference session details will be coming in July.
 

Stacking IRA Incentives for Multifamily Decarbonization & LL97 Compliance

This session will explore how IRA programs can be combined to help fund decarbonization projects and get multifamily buildings in compliance with Local Law 97. The IRA created new and improved energy efficiency tax incentives, rebate programs, and financing that can be leveraged together to improve the economics of decarbonizing multifamily buildings. However, many developers and building owners are unfamiliar with the programs and how they can be used together in the capital stack of their projects.

Is Technology a Hero or a Villain in the Quest to Reduce Whole-Life Carbon?

Designers are aware of the impact of operational and embodied carbon, but how can we make sure we are comparing apples to apples? How does operational carbon compare to embodied carbon over time? Carbon accounting can be problematic on projects with innovative materials, like mass timber and electrochromic glass. Through various case studies, this presentation will illustrate how the lack of standardization in whole-life carbon accounting methodologies can lead to surprising results.

Clean Energy from Dirty Water: Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) System Showcase

New York City's clean energy goals require going beyond compliance and aiming for deep energy retrofits and innovative technologies, like wastewater energy transfer (WET) systems, which extract thermal energy from wastewater for reuse in building systems. Our speakers will use our project examples in New York City to discuss how to screen building candidates, the benefits and challenges of design and implementation, and the difficulties encountered in planning and installing real projects.

Reducing Facility Costs by Transforming Campus Culture: Roadmap for Success

After the euphoria of opening a new or renovated building, many institutions don’t understand their increasing complexity or the resources necessary to maintain them. The City University of New York (CUNY) developed an innovative executional strategy that addresses these challenges. CUNY is improving its operation of building systems while reducing accumulation of deferred maintenance, energy consumption, and associated carbon emissions to achieve its Local Law 97 sustainability goals.

Not all that Counts Can be Counted: Carbon Can Be, But Generally Isn't!

There is considerable debate about the relative benefits of electrification and heat pumps vs. envelope improvements. It has been suggested that Deep Energy Retrofits (DER’s) are impractical and not cost effective. However, with an accurate Social Cost of Carbon, the financial calculation for DER’s may flip. We apply a systems thinking lens to explore how carbon emissions are valued, and look at two multifamily Deep Energy Retrofit examples to explore operational and embodied carbon reduction potential.

The GGRF: Utilizing New Funds to Invest in the Energy Transition

Together, Climate United and Power Forward were awarded nearly $9 billion through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund. CPC Climate Capital, a CPC subsidiary created to manage the GGRF award, is dedicated to the multifamily prong of Climate United. This session will dive into two of the awarded coalitions to explore how use of these federal dollars can transform capital markets and create meaningful change.

NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Lightning Round: Early Design Support

NYSERDA Early Design Support Buildings of Excellence design partners will present five affordable multifamily projects that explore a range of design strategies, systems and certifications. Magnusson Architecture and Planning, Curtis Ginsberg Architects and Paul Castrucci Architects will present their research into renewable strategies, electrification costs and building controls, embodied carbon, Passive House design, and healthy building materials, highlighting opportunities and challenges.

Meeting Communities Where They're at: Integrating Compliance with Compassion

This session will help industry professionals connect the dots on the Climate Mobilization Act with affordable housing. Due to historical disinvestment, inflation, and a looming housing crisis, communities living in affordable housing often struggle financially. The NYC Accelerator offers free assistance to these buildings, connecting them to different resources to aid compliance. This support is crucial, helping them avoid penalties and promote preservation, while promoting climate action.

Responding to IECC Changes

In Spring 2024, the IECC Board voted to roll back energy efficiency and decarbonization measures, a highly controversial decision in the field. This session will discuss the impact of this decision on decarbonization goals, as well as the tools that industry organizations, as well as state and local governments, are deploying to address the pullback.

New York State Electrification Programs: Case Studies and Strategies to Increase Adoption

The Climate Friendly Homes Fund (CFHF) and the HPD-NYSERDA Retrofit Electrification Pilot Program are first in the nation grant/subsidy programs aimed at covering 100% of projected electrification-related costs in retrofits of existing buildings. This session will highlight committed and completed projects, design and specification of systems in electrification retrofit projects, and data collected throughout the construction and program stand up processes.

REVIVE 2024: A Streamlined Retrofit Design Framework

Phius has been developing REVIVE 2024, a new standard for passive building retrofits and supporting software tool. The standard is guided by thermal resilience as a leveling metric (is it passive or not) and a whole building lifecycle cost analysis, including the cost of embodied and operational carbon, to chose an optimal retrofit package that provides a cost effective retrofit that does not blow the carbon budget upfront. A commissioning process guides quality control and project delivery.

Decarbonizing NYC Offices: Finding Opportunities & Strategies for Success

Commercial tenant spaces are a critical component to whether a building complies with Local Law 97. Join an insightful discussion between building owners, tenants, and legal representatives about driving decarbonization in leased office spaces by changing business-as-usual to prioritize energy savings and emissions reductions at key stages of the leasing cycle. These new practices endeavor to create more sustainable, efficient, and healthy workplaces that meet local and state regulations.

Getting Our Arms Around VRF In-Field Performance

Because colder climates are only an emerging application for the technology, very little validation research has been conducted to validate in field performance of VRF in these applications. Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, in collaboration with Ridgeline Analytics and VEIC and with funding from US DOE, monitored several VRF systems at five sites across New England and New York to understand in-field heating and cooling efficiency, as well as assess prevalence of refrigerant leakage.

Meeting a Building Where It’s At: A Guide to Practical, Staged Electrification

Local Law 97 sets a path forward for NYC buildings to reduce their emissions through electrification. However, the reality is many technical and financial challenges exist for electrification and practical, staged electrification is currently needed to get us beyond compliance. In this talk, we will discuss our practical and staged capital plan and design of the central plant upgrades at a 500-unit multifamily building that optimizes operating expenses and carbon emission reduction.

The Water-Energy Nexus

It takes water to make energy and it takes energy to make water. In some buildings, the cost of water is greater than the cost of HVAC+DHW energy, yet we don’t address it. Simple water retrofits can greatly increase the cash flow in a building. There are also many things that we use on a day-to-day basis that use immense amounts of water, and controlling this use reduces local and regional water resources.