Q. I live in a prewar co-op building. It takes 5-10 minutes for the cold water in my kitchen and bathroom to get truly cold. It starts out warm or lukewarm (75-82 degrees Fahrenheit) when I first turn it on, and it’s very frustrating. The…
Reducing energy waste not only cuts costs for buildings and associations, but also helps reduce a community's environmental footprint. In this clip, an HV/AC expert tells us how incorporating thermostatic radiator valves in your community c…
If you think about it, a multifamily building isn’t that much different than the human body. Both house important complex operating systems and organ-like pieces of vital equipment, both take in fuel and produce waste, and both require regu…
When it comes to reducing energy costs in most buildings, the space heating system garners the lion’s share of attention. The performance of the hot water system is rarely considered until there is a complaint. And yet, water heating accoun…
The process of producing energy for metropolitan area co-ops and condos has dramatically evolved in recent years, advancing to the point in which Lewis Kwit, the president of Energy Investment Systems, based in Manhattan, makes a relatively…
From the outside, the structure of a condo or co-op building may appear to be monolithic; just one big piece of brick and steel, punctuated with some glass here and there. That's an oversimplification, however. A multifamily building is pe…
Nothing lasts forever, and though you can’t predict the moment a piece of building equipment will break down, you can prepare for it. Even the toughest boiler, HVAC unit, or elevator will eventually tucker out and need major repairs, or ju…
A cold, wet spring turned quickly into a hot, humid summer rife with thunderstorms and localized flooding throughout the northeast. As autumn starts to paint the region’s foliage, building community and association boards and managers are …
As winter looms, property owners can cut costs and save on their heating bills with preventive maintenance and upgrades to their steam systems. Here are some suggestions for savings from Con Edison. Optimize Steam Piping Syste…
New York City law will phase out the burning of Number 6 fuel oil in the near future. Should you wait until the last minute until making the switch to cleaner fuel oil in your own building? Does it make sense to do it now, or …