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Large commercial and residential buildings must overcome various hurdles before implementing deep retrofits or capital projects that help achieve building decarbonization. In this section, we go through a list of address technical barriers and questions often faced by building owners and retrofit project developers.

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title	Decentralized Systems and Tenant Equipment

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Access to Occupied Spaces.

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Lease Concerns.

UI Step

Regulatory Limitations - Rent Stabilized Apartments

The building owner is required to provide free heat and hot water.
No mechanism to recover investment in new systems is necessary to achieve decarbonization.
Buildings are capital constrained

UI Step
Split Incentives (tenants pays pay for energy).

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title	Infrastructure

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High temperature renewable resources are limited and face hurdles:

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Deep Bore Geothermal
Renewable Hydrogen
Carbon Capture and Sequestration

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Biomethane
Electric Boilers
High-temperature thermal storage

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Hight-temperature industrial heat pumps
Waste Heat Capture and Reuse
Fission

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Utility Capacity Limitations:

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title	Building Electric Capacity Upgrades

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Electric Riser Capacityriser capacity
Switchgear Expansionexpansion
New Serviceservice/Vault Expansionvault expansion/Pointpoint-of-Entry Space Constraintsentry space constraints

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Capacity competition with other electrification needs:
- Space Heat heat and Coolingcooling
- DHW
- Cooking
- Pumps and Motorsmotors

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title	Local Network Electric Capacity Upgrades

Excess Distribution Facility Charges (EDF)
Contributions in Aid of Construction (CIAC)

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title	Gas Utility Earnings Adjustment Mechanisms (EAM) focused on System Peak Demand Reductions

Partial Electrification concepts achieve deep decarbonization but do not necessarily achieve peak gas demand reductions (debatable)

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title	Total Connected Loads and Peak Demand drive need for capacity upgrades

Demand reduction strategies do not obviate capacity limitations unless the utility accepts the solution as a permanent demand/load reduction strategy.

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Battery Storage:
- Fire Dangerdanger
- Space Constraintsconstraints
- Electricity Distribution Limitationsdistribution limitations
- Structural Loadsloads

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Building Automation/BMS/Demand Response:
- Cost
- Integration Limitationslimitations; blackbox Blackbox software
- Microgrid Developmentdevelopment
  1. Cost
  2. Lack of Expertiseexpertise

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On-site Generation:
- Space Constraintsconstraints
- Gas Useuse; zero Zero carbon fuels availability is non-existent
- Structural Loadsloads
- Pipe Infrastructureinfrastructure

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title	Thermal Storage

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Space Constrainsconstrains
Structural Loadsloads
Technology Limitationslimitations:
- Vacuum insulated storage tanks
- Phase change material (DHW, space heating)

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title	Geothermal (ambient temperature), Deep Bore Geothermal (high temperature) or Shared Loop District Energy Systems provide cooling and heating with lower peak demand than standard electric equipment

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Building pipe riser limitations; need additional riser capacity:
- Building water loops are typically “top down” - cooling capacity istypically is typically located at rooftop mechanical penthouses; cooling towersat towers at roof.
  1. Some exceptions to this rule
- Space Constraints

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Drilling Difficulty:
- Outdoor Space Constraints for Geothermal Wellsspace constraints for geothermal wells
- Difficult permitting
- Mud and cuttings disposal
  1. Contaminated soil disposal
- Overhead Clearance Constraints clearance constraints for Drilling drilling in Basementsbasements/Garages garages

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Shared Loop/Thermal Utility Limitations:
- Requires entity that may operate in public ROWs and across property lines
- Utilities are limited by regulations for gas, steam or electric delivery vs. versus shared loop media (ambient temperature water).
  1. Only utility entities can provide very long amortization periods
  2. Utilities are best suited to work amid crowded underground municipal ROWs.

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Deep Bore Geothermal Limitations:
- Requires Requires test drilling and geological assessment
- Seismic Riskrisk
- Drilling equipment is very large - more akin to oil and gas development equipment
- Subsurface land rights and DEC restrictions

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title	Other Energy Efficiency/Conservation Measures with proven/attractive economics (these measures are limited by lack of capital or knowledge)

Lighting with Lighting Controlslighting controls
High-efficiency electrically commutated motors (ECM)
Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on pumps and motors
Retro-commissioning Tasks tasks and Maintenancemaintenance

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title	Behavioral Modification

Staggered Work Schedulingwork scheduling
Telework
Submetering and Billingbilling: potentially creates split incentive between landlord and tenant:
- Water
- Electric
  1. Onerous regulatory compliance
- Heat and Cooling
  1. Rent stabilized buildings prohibit billing for heat

Aura - Tab

title	Facade and Windows

UI Steps

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Work must be completed at the end of facade/window useful life; very long useful life

UI Step
Building Codecode

UI Step
Glazing Reduction reduction at odds with aesthetic/marketability concerns

UI Step
Difficult installing with occupied spaces

UI Step

Reduce Local Law 11 recurring cost via overcladding

Aesthetic Concernsconcerns
At odds with historic preservation
Capital intensive
Lot Line Limitationsline limitations

UI Step

Technology Limitations

Need higher R-value/inch for thinner wall assembly:
- Vacuum insulated panels
- Aerogel panels/batts
- Zero-GWP blowing agents for closed cell spray foam (nitrogen blowing agent needs to be more widely adopted)

Aura - Tab

title	Ventilation

UI Steps

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UI Step

Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV)

Space Constraintsconstraints
System Tietie-in point accessibility/feasibility

UI Step

Rooftop Supply Air (Reznor) Unit Alternatives

Heat Pump Alternatives pump alternatives to eliminate resistance heat
Combine with ERV

UI Step

HVAC Load Reduction (HLR) Technology

Vent or Capture Exhaust Gasescapture exhaust gases
Space Constraintsconstraints
System Tietie-in point accessibility/feasibility

UI Step
Central vs. Decentralized Ventilation Systems

UI Step

Direct Outside Air System (DOAS)

Modular Perimeter Ducted Air Heat Pumpsperimeter ducted air heat pumps:
- Competition for Leasable Spaceleasable space
- Space Constraintsconstraints

UI Step

Ventilation Points-of-Entry

Aesthetic Concernsconcerns
Lot Line Facades/Building Setbacksline facades/building setbacks
Competition with Leasable Spaceleasable space
Space Constraintsconstraints

Aura - Tab

title	Heat Pump Limitations

UI Steps

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UI Step

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF)

Fire and Life Safety life safety concerns over about volume of refrigerant gas located within occupied spaces.

UI Step
Regulatory Risk risk from new refrigerant policies

UI Step
PTAC and VTAC

UI Step
Ducted Supply/Exhaust Air Source Heat Pumps

UI Step

Domestic Hot Water

Central DHW Systems:
- Limited domestic production
- Performance not confirmed by independent third - parties
- More demonstration projects needed
Decentralized DHW Systems

UI Step

More open-source interconnection between devices/interoperability is needed to achieve energy distribution flexibility and capacity expansion:

air Air source that has a manifold connection to interconnect with water source or refrigerant gas distribution
interconnectivityInterconnectivity/simplified heat exchange between refrigerants/water/air, etc.
Other optionality options and add-ons

Aura - Tab

title	Crossover Device or “Magic Box”TechnologyBox” Technology

Info
multiMulti-purpose technology for heating, cooling, heat exchange and ventilation, filtration, and/or domestic hot water

UI Steps

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Domestic production and supply chain is limited

UI Step
Small players operating in this space

UI Step

Technology is not tested over long operational periods

Daikin, Nilan, Zehnder, Drexel und Weiss, Minotair, Build Equinox, Clivet

Aura - Tab

title	Zero Carbon Fuels Limitations

UI Steps

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UI Step
Green Hydrogen

UI Step
Renewable Natural Gas

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title	Low-carbon Fuels

UI Steps

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UI Step
Biofuel

UI Step
Biomethane

Aura - Tab

title	NYS-focused Carbon Offset MarketLimitations

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title	Renewable Energy Procurement Limitations

UI Steps

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UI Step

REC Purchasing

NYSERDA monopolizes REC purchasing from renewable energy projects

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title	Pending Carbon Trading ProgramsLimitations

UI Steps

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UI Step
Deployment timeline is highly uncertain

UI Step
Price per ton of carbon is highly uncertain and will likely be volatile/low based on previous emissions trading scheme outcomes

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Key

High temperature renewable resources are limited and face hurdles:

Utility Capacity Limitations: