Handbook for Co-Ops and Condos
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NEWNEW YORKYORK CITYCITY CARBONCARBON CHALLENGECHALLENGE HANDBOOKHANDBOOK FORFOR CO-OPSCO-OPS ANDAND CONDOSCONDOS DecemberDecember 20132013 A GREENER, GREATER NEW YORK The City of New York The City of New York would like to thank the following for their valuable assistance in producing this report: Lindsay K. Robbins, Senior Project Manager, Ann R. Mantha, Senior Project Manager, and Mary C. Chick, Senior Project Manager at the New York State Energy Re- search and Development Authority; Christopher Diamond, Director of Engineering and Technical Analysis at the New York City Energy Ef- ficiency Corporation; Laura Humphrey, Deputy Program Manager for NYC Clean Heat; Valerie Corbett, President of IntelliGreen Partners LLC; Jeffrey Perlman, President and Founder at Bright Power Inc.; Marc Zuluaga, Vice President, PE and Heather Nolen, Energy Consul- tant at Steven Winter Associates; Richard Leigh, Director of Research of the Urban Green Council, New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council; and the cooperative board of 12 East 97th Street. This report was written by Jenna Tatum and Jeffrey Irvine of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, with support from John H. Lee, Aaron Lewis, Stacy Lee, Margot Schloss, Siena Chiang, and Joseph Musso. The report was designed by Jenna Tatum, Jeffrey Irvine, and Aaron Lewis. Cover Photo: Madison Square, Manhattan Credit: Matthew Rutledge at Flickr (flickr.com/people/rutlo) Printed on paper containing 30% post-consumer material. Introduction Welcome! This handbook is a tool for co-op and condo residents in New York City to learn how to begin reducing their building’s energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By investing in energy efficiency, not only can residents reduce their building’s emissions, they will also save money, improve local air quality, and help ensure that building equipment is operating efficiently. This handbook includes the most important information for co-op and condo board members and residents to start saving energy and reducing emissions. It covers the basics of energy efficiency, the cash incentives and financing available in New York City, and the relevant local laws and regulations aimed at helping the city’s buildings become more efficient. If you and your board are interested in investing in energy efficiency, your building may be eligible to participate in the NYC Carbon Challenge, a voluntary program to reduce your building’s GHG emissions by at least 15% over the next ten years. Participants in the Challenge will receive help from a qualified team of professionals to identify cost-saving ways to reduce their building’s energy use and begin realizing the benefits of energy efficiency. To be eligible, your property management firm must be signed up for the NYC Carbon Challenge. If you’re not sure if your management firm is signed up, you can check directly with your property manager or visit www.nyc.gov/mcc- multifamily for a full list of participants. NYC Carbon Challenge Handbook for Co-Ops and Condos Table of Contents Background 1 The Benefits of Saving Energy 2 Opportunities to Save Energy 3 How to Get Started 4 Electrical Systems 6 Building Envelope 8 Heating & Cooling Systems 10 Domestic Hot Water 14 On-Site Generation & Renewables 16 Other Energy-Saving Measures 18 Case Studies 20 Appendix A: Cash Incentives 24 Appendix B: Financing and Loans 28 Appendix C: NYC Requirements 30 Appendix D: Technical Resources 33 Appendix E: Online Resources 34 Glossary 36 Sources and End Notes 37 Background Climate Change and PlaNYC Global climate change poses risks to New York City from rising sea levels, increased heat and heat waves, and more frequent and intense storms. The damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which disrupted power for 2 million people, flooded almost 90,000 buildings, and resulted in 43 deaths, provided a devastating snapshot of the the growing challenges New Yorkers face.1 To address these challenges, New York City must both adapt to a changing climate and take bold action to mitigate the harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. Credit: NYC Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency Size and windspeed of Hurricane Sandy In 2007, New York City released a comprehensive sustainability plan called PlaNYC that establishes an ambitious goal to reduce citywide GHG emissions 30% by the year 2030. Because nearly 75% of citywide GHG emissions come from the energy used in its buildings, PlaNYC identifies energy efficiency in the city’s buildings as the most effective way to reduce these harmful emissions. The NYC Carbon Challenge To lead by example, New York City government in 2007 pledged to reduce GHG emissions from municipal buildings and operations by 30% in just ten years. Following this pledge, the City launched the NYC Carbon Challenge (Challenge) as a voluntary program for universities, hospitals, and commercial offices to match that goal. Now, residential cooperatives (“co-ops”), condominiums (“condos”), and rental buildings can also join the Challenge. These buildings will work with their property management firms to reduce GHG emissions by15-30% over the next ten years, as part of the property management firms’ commitment to reduce GHG emissions from either individual buildings or a selected portfolio of their buildings by 30% in ten years. The Challenge is a partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide specialized technical assistance to multifamily buildings about energy efficiency. If your board decides to join the Challenge, you will work with your property manager to reduce your building’s energy use and emissions, save money on your energy bills, and improve local environmental quality. For more Credit: NYC Mayor’s Office information, visit www.nyc.gov/carbonchallenges. Mayor Bloomberg announces the NYC Carbon Challenge NYC Carbon Challenge Handbook for Co-Ops and Condos 1 The Benefits of Saving Energy Credit: NYC HPD 1. Save Money on Your Energy Bills Did You Know? Using less energy costs less money. Reducing energy use will lower both your Between 2001 and 2009, energy bills and your building’s GHG emissions. average rents for multifam- ily housing in the U.S. rose Switching to cleaner fuels can also save money. For example, natural gas is by 7.5%, but energy costs both less expensive and less carbon-intensive than No. 6 and No. 4 heating oil. for renters rose three times more quickly—by nearly 2 2. Hold Down Building Operating Costs 23%. Properly maintaining equipment will reduce energy use and help prevent costly emergencies. Ensuring that building operators are trained to maximize efficiency of your equipment is another relatively easy way to save both energy and money. 3. Enhance the Comfort of Your Building Rebalancing your building’s air flows will both reduce energy use and make your building more comfortable. If your building is too hot in some areas and cold in others, your heating system may be operating inefficiently. Sealing cracks in the building and improving insulation allows your building to maintain more stable and comfortable temperatures throughout the year—and will use less energy in the process. 4. Increase Resilience to Extreme Weather Installing efficient on-site generation, such as combined heat and power (CHP) or solar panels, can help protect against power losses during storms and other emergencies while also reducing a building’s overall energy use. Improving the building’s exterior envelope can also protect buildings against flood damage, reduce suscepti- bility to extreme heat or cold, and reduce energy use for heating and cooling at the same time. 5. Improve the Environment Lowering your building’s energy use reduces GHG emissions, the harmful gases that contribute to global climate change and extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy. Switching to cleaner fuels also reduces local air pollution by reducing emissions of fine particulate matter, which contributes to cleaner air in your neighborhood. Be Sure to Act Soon to Take Advantage of Resources Available Now—Financial incentives and low in- terest loans that can drastically reduce the capital costs of upgrades are available now through organizations such as NYSERDA, Consolidated Edison, Inc (Con Edison), and the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC). See Appendix A for more information about the financial incentives and loans currently available in New York City. 2 NYC Carbon Challenge Handbook for Co-Ops and Condos Opportunities for Energy Efficiency Credit: NYC Economic Development Corporation Your building is a system that is made up of many sub-systems that function together. Understanding these systems and how they interact will help you identify sources of energy waste, improve building performance, and prioritize investments in energy efficiency. Below is a summary of the most common building systems and some of the key opportunities for efficiency, which are covered in greater depth in this handbook beginning on page 6. Electrical Systems Electricity powers most of the appliances in your building, including the lights, elevators, and anything plugged into an electrical outlet. Key opportunities to reduce your building’s electricity use include installing lighting upgrades and controls, electric sub-metering in units, building management systems (BMS), or energy efficient appliances. Building Envelope A building’s envelope consists of everything that separates the inside of the building from the outside, including the roof, walls, windows, and doors. Key opportunities to improve the building envelope include sealing cracks and leaks in the building, adding building insulation, replacing windows, and installing cool roofs or green roofs. Heating and Cooling Systems Heating and cooling systems are typically responsible for about half of a multifamily building’s total energy use. There are many opportunities to reduce the energy use of these systems, which include implementing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system upgrades and converting heating oil to less-polluting fuels.