Page 17 - NY Cooperator October 2020

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EPA – Lead Safe Certified Firm NYC Licensed Master Plumber #711 Westchester County Licensed Master Plumber #1137 NYC Certified Backflow Tester #9183 800-464-1112 718-882-1071 Ad for Yates Restora on, February 2015 RESTORATION GROUP, LTD. Phone: 718.993.5700 info@yatesrestoration.com www.yatesrestoration.com Yates Restoration has set the standard in the restoration and maintenance of New York CIty’s most notable properties. Our unsurpassed expertise and team of artisans, technicians and project managers, means your project gets done right and on schedule. Call or visit us at our website. Restoring the City of New York for over 90 years • Facade Restoration • Roofing and Waterproofing • Terrace and Plaza Restoration • Balcony Restoration and Repair • Structural Stabilization • Steel Work • Ornamental Sheet Metal • Local Law 11 City wide, the goal is to reduce carbon off er PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) emissions 80% by the year 2050; the state has fi nancing opportunities for residential build- a goal of 40% reduction by 2030, and last year, ings, per ILSR’s data. Governor Andrew Cuomo upped the ante with a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by to Swanston, are resources and support for 2040. Th is leads energy consultants like Egg house one- to four-family homes, most of to warn, “Any property that combusts fuel which are in the outer boroughs. Th ese own- (burns fuel to create heat) … when it’s at the ers and residents are oft en the ones suff ering point of needing replacement, if the building the most from the pollutants and other envi- doesn’t replace it with an all electric system or ronmental shortcomings of fuel-combustion, heat pump solution, it will become a stranded and they would “transition in a heartbeat,” asset.” He notes that the fi nes associated with she says, if made aware of the cleaner, cheap- Local Law 97 grow substantially, so building er alternatives available. Now that Con Ed managers and boards should take note that “has switched over to weaning people off of as systems and equipment approach the end natural gas and onto all-electric geothermal of their useful lives in the coming years, re- placement with a geothermal solution “limits centive for owners in all sectors to make the CO2 emissions, which is a big deal for climate investment in their buildings—for their plan- change concerns, and also limits the cooling et, for their pockets, and for their pulmonary towers, which is a big pandemic-type con- cern,” in addition to limiting the steep fi nes and penalties associated with exceeding emis- sions benchmarks. Th e “master plan,” according to Egg, is to convert all 900,000 buildings in New York to heat pumps by 2050. It will involve “what we call ‘ambient geothermal mains, similar to steam mains that ConEd has run in the past, that will cover multiple blocks—we call it a ‘geothermal microgrid’—allowing multiple buildings and facilities to share energy. Each building won’t have to drill its own wells. A lot of the buildings will tie into exchanges that go into the East River, and that go into the Hud- son River—we call it ‘surface water geother- mal exchange.’ “Other buildings will tie into the dewater- ing operations from the MTA,” Egg contin- ues. “Millions of gallons per minute that are pumped out \\\[of the city’s subway infrastruc- ture\\\] can go through exchangers that sup- ply the heat energy for heat pumps and the cooling heatsink for chilling operations. Th e structure already exists. Th ere’s a lot of oppor- tunity, but as you can imagine, it’s a compli- cated mess. But the solutions are there.” Egg has been working closely with New York City Councilman Costa Constantinides, who chairs the Council’s Environmental Pro- tection Committee. Samara Swanston, who serves as legal counsel for the Committee, un- derscores that policy-wise, the legislation and incentives already exist to advance renewable energy initiatives in the state. Th e technology is in place as well. “You have renewable op- tions in solar photovoltaic, in-conduit hydro power, even wind turbines that are small enough to put on the roof of a building. Right now, new things really don’t need to be in- vented,” she insists. Th e fi nancing potential also exists in the state. Constantinides’s Communications Director, Terence Cullen, adds in an email, “Co-ops and condos can, and should, make use of the grants and services provided both by NYSERDA and the City’s Retrofi t Accel- erator. A bill passed along with Local Law 97 establishes a PACE fi nance system, which will help many owners cover the costs of these upgrades.” Twenty-two other states currently Lacking on the legislative front, according the 70% of buildings in New York City that solutions,” adds Egg, there might be more in- health. The Implementation Th e next step in designing and retrofi tting multifamily buildings for the future is to un- derstand the interrelatedness between the in- side and the outside, the parts and the whole, our living spaces and our living. As buildings and communities take on regular mainte- nance, capital projects, and long-term fi nan- cial planning, they should proceed holistical- ly, taking a cue from engineers and architects who suggest considering new innovations like vertical solar arrays when facing facade- related improvements—many of which are mandated by municipal safety programs and international codes. Roofi ng projects should (or must, in New York’s case) include specifi - cations for integrating green surfaces, solar or wind technology, and/or equipment that ac- commodates clean power delivery from other sources. And any exploration of MEP systems should take into account how ‘smart’ technol- ogy and automation can enhance effi ciency and curb costs while also avoiding physical contact for operation. Today’s innovations—along with their availability and price points—in HVAC, MEP, and power distribution systems make energy upgrades and replacements not only compel- ling, but achievable. Environmentally focused legislation and regulations are pushing home- owners and operators further in that direc- tion, and the current crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has, in many respects, honed the world’s attention toward improvement and investment in the multi- family residential sector. We now have what may be considered the perfect conditions for real energy solutions: the right products and technology, at (or approaching) the right price, with the right governmental and busi- ness backing. Now all we need is the imple- mentation. “It is a multi-decade transition,” admits Egg. “We’re a little bit resistant as a so- ciety, but we’re starting to get the hang of it.” n Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and Staff Writer for Th e Cooperator. MULTIFAMILY... continued from page 8