Pursuing Passive
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report Strategies for a High Comfort, Low Energy Retrofit in NYC Pursuing Passive October 2018 Pursuing Passive Section be-exchange.org 1 report sections 4 Executive Summary 8 The Building 10 Policy Context 13 Passive House & EnerPHit 17 Retrofit Criteria 18 Retrofit Strategies 38 Retrofit Phasing 40 Benefits & Costs 45 Conclusions 48 Acknowledgments Pursuing Passive be-exchange.org 3 executive summary Improving the performance innovation. Extensive, holistic of buildings must be a central renovation of occupied buildings component of any response to is expensive and disruptive for the challenges of climate change. the occupants, and since such This is both an imperative and work is rarely undertaken there an opportunity. Responding to is no natural market to exploit. climate change by aggressively The diversity of our building improving the performance stock (in size, age, construction, of the built environment will etc.) further complicates matters produce buildings that are by making it difficult to scale superior in virtually every solutions—there is no one size capacity, and focus attention fits all approach. There are on an industry whose processes many resources that describe have lagged behind those of generalized solutions for building other sectors. types, but building owners will It is imperative to draw down require strategies more specific the energy use of buildings to their particular building worldwide to ensure an equitable before studying the feasibility of and sustainable future. Buildings a deep retrofit. With this in mind, contribute 40% of global carbon we have selected an existing emissions and an astonishing high-rise multifamily building in 70% in New York City alone1. New York City that represents a New York City estimates that common building type and will carbon emissions of the building serve as the case study for sector need to be reduced by this report. 60% in order to meet our current The subject building is climate action goals2. This will 15-stories tall, 123,000 gross require not only increasing square feet, and includes 163 the stringency of our energy apartments. Having carefully codes for new construction, but selected a building with both introducing a radical expansion features and challenges common of existing building retrofits, a to a broad range of buildings, sector notoriously resistant to we have applied the standard 4 be-exchange.org Pursuing Passive Executive Summary that we feel offers the most that most effectively meet the promising mix of reliability and requirements of EnerPHit and effectiveness: Passive House. describes ways to phase these Passive House distinguishes in over time while the building is itself from other standards occupied. We identify the most and guidelines by focusing on important technical and market occupant comfort and truly challenges of pursuing a deep reliable heating and cooling retrofit, as well as the significant energy savings, producing benefits and the costs. With high quality, cost effective each passing day, the urgency buildings ready for a future of with which we must draw down electrification, high utility costs our carbon emissions increases. and more frequent extreme We are entering a period in weather events. Passive House which incremental measures also includes a comprehensive that provide limited emissions standard explicitly for retrofits reductions might be insufficient of existing buildings, called in the long run. This report EnerPHit. explores feasible improvements The primary retrofit that will allow us to meet our components of achieving the climate action goals and, in the EnerPHit standard for our absence of relevant examples subject building are relatively of deep retrofits, provides high- simple: level guidance for the owners of similar buildings. • Replace the windows with Is it feasible? This study high performance units finds that retrofitting a high- • Reclad the façade with rise, freestanding residential insulation and an airtight layer building to the Passive House • Upgrade the ventilation to a standard presents very few balanced system with heat technical challenges and would recovery result in substantial benefits that • Replace the heating and would also require significant cooling with a high efficiency capital and extensive tenant system engagement to complete • Upgrade domestic hot water successfully. We find it possible and other systems to conduct such a holistic retrofit in several phases while the The study emphasizes building remains fully occupied, selecting those improvements but it is far less expensive and Pursuing Passive Executive Summary be-exchange.org 5 far more effective in terms of strategies outlined in the report carbon emissions reductions to is $10.14 million, which equates perform the retrofit in a single to roughly $82 per square foot or phase. This report focuses on $62,000 per unit. We estimate the technical strategies required the total cost of business-as- to meet the requirements of the usual upgrades to the building EnerPHit standard and enjoy the would be roughly $3.64 million. significant benefits available. Subtracting these costs produces We have included cost estimates a net additional cost of $6.5 for the various measures, and million to achieve EnerPHit although deep financial analysis certification (which equates to is outside our purview, there is $53/sf, or $40,000/unit). Phasing clearly a pressing need for access the work adds a significant to capital to perform these premium of $1.6 million (due to critical upgrades. the additional general conditions To convince building owners and recurring setup costs), while to embark on costly and also delaying delivery of the full disruptive projects, we must benefits of the retrofit. These identify the clear benefits of figures are high, and we explore transforming their buildings— methods to reduce them, but which include comfort, health the costs of inaction across the and asset value in addition to building sector are far higher energy savings. Passive House and incremental approaches to has a demonstrated record of energy efficiency are unlikely delivering improved interior to meet our climate action comfort and air quality as well goals and may not improve the as reliable, consistent energy valuation of the building enough savings from heating and cooling to warrant the effort. systems. The deep retrofit In the pages that follow, described in this report delivers we outline strategies selected a far superior asset for both to minimize disruption to owner and occupant while also the occupants. However, the playing a central role in avoiding project would still require both climate catastrophe. equipment and finish work in The primary barriers every major room of the building, to embarking on such an including extensive work in extensive upgrade are capital the common areas and at the and disruption to tenants. The building exterior. While many total estimated cost of all the buildings perform efficiency 6 be-exchange.org Pursuing Passive Executive Summary Figure 1: The subject building faces many challenges common to a wide variety of New York City buildings, including masonry exterior walls with no insulation, aging windows and merely adequate ventilation. upgrades to individual systems, challenge faced by virtually there are limited examples every community is how to of occupied buildings that connect the individual costs perform the type of integrated of upgrading buildings to the retrofits delivering the level broader societal benefits of of greenhouse gas reductions avoiding climate catastrophe, as needed for most cities to meet well as developing strategies to their climate action goals. cope with those impacts we will Extensive, holistic upgrades to not be able to avoid. This report existing buildings can deliver outlines the retrofit strategies raw efficiency along with a high required for one building type quality living environment, and in New York City to meet the can enable a future powered by obligations imposed on us by the renewable energy along with specter of global climate change. resiliency in the face of future We hope this is the starting point climate fluctuations and crises. for a deep discussion about As Amory Lovins of the Rocky how we can deliver the benefits Mountain Institute has stated, outlined in the most efficient “The good news about climate ways possible, and how we can change is that it is cheaper to incentivize as many buildings as fix than it is to ignore.”3 The possible to undertake them. Pursuing Passive Executive Summary be-exchange.org 7 the building The project team selected an existing building with features and challenges common to many high-rise multifamily buildings in the region. Figure 2: Typical Existing Floor Plan Living Room Living Room Bed Room Living Room Bed Room Living Room Bed Room Living Room Bed Room Kitchen Kitchen Kitchen Bath Bath Bath Kitchen Foyer Foyer Foyer F Kitchen Foyer Bath Elevator Bath Bed Room Bed Room Bath Bath B Foyer Foyer Living Room Bath Living Room Bath Bath Bath Kitchen Kitchen Living Room Living Room Bed Room Bed Room Kitchen Kitchen Living Room Living Room Kitchen Kitchen Dining Dining Dining Dining Each of the 15 floors includes 11 apartments except the ground floor with 9. Apartments range in size from studios to two-bedroom units, gathered around a central corridor. This study describes the New York City (as well as many feasibility of upgrading an existing other regions) and has many of the multifamily building in New York most common challenges that will City to meet the Passive House be encountered by anyone looking standard for retrofits. The building to perform a deep retrofit of an selected for study is a 15-story, occupied multifamily building. market-rate residential building on The owner of the property a small campus of nearly identical generously made drawings and buildings in Brooklyn. Constructed other information about the in 1950, the building has masonry building available but wished to exterior walls that enclose 163 remain unidentified in the report. apartments across 123,000 gross square feet.