Large commercial and residential buildings must overcome various hurdles before implementing deep retrofits or capital projects that help achieve building decarbonization.
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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
Split Incentives (tenants pays for energy).
Con Edison Steam: assume district steam system will decarbonize
High temperature renewable resources are limited and face hurdles:
Deep Bore Geothermal
Renewable Hydrogen
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Biomethane
Electric Boilers
High-temperature thermal storage
Hight-temperature industrial heat pumps
Waste Heat Capture and Reuse
Fission
Barriers to Electrification:
Utility Capacity Limitations:
Building Electric Capacity Upgrades
Capacity competition with other electrification needs:
Space Heat and Cooling
DHW
Cooking
Pumps and Motors
Electric Riser Capacity
Switchgear Expansion
New Service/Vault Expansion/Point-of-Entry Space Constraints
Local Network Electric Capacity Upgrades
Excess Distribution Facility Charges (EDF)
Contributions in Aid of Construction (CIAC)
Gas Utility Earnings Adjustment Mechanisms (EAM) focused on SystemPeak Demand Reductions
Partial Electrification concepts achieve deep decarbonization but do notnecessarily achieve peak gas demand reductions (debateable)
Total Connected Loads and Peak Demand drive need for capacityupgrades; demand reduction strategies do not obviate capacity limitationsunless the utility accepts the solution as a permanent demand/loadreduction strategy.
Battery Storage:
Fire Danger
Space Constraints
Electri Distribution Limitations
Structural Loads
Building Automation/BMS/Demand Response:
Cost
Integration Limitations; blackbox software
Microgrid Development
Cost
Lack of Expertise
On-site Generation:
Space Constraints
Gas Use; zero carbon fuels availability is non-existent
Structural Loads
Pipe Infrastructure
Thermal Storage
Space Constrains
Structural Loads
Technology Limitations:
Vacuum insulated storage tanks
Phase change material (DHW, space heating)
Geothermal (ambient temperature), Deep Bore Geothermal (hightemperature) or Shared Loop District Energy Systems provide cooling andheating with lower peak demand than standard electric equipment
Building pipe riser limitations; need additional riser capacity:
Building water loops are typically “top down” - cooling capacity istypically located at rooftop mechanical penthouses; cooling towersat roof.
Some exceptions to this rule
Space Constraints
Drilling Difficulty:
Outdoor Space Constraints for Geothermal Wells
Difficult permitting
Mud and cuttings disposal
Contaminated soil disposal
Overhead Clearance Constraints for Drilling in Basements/Garages
Shared Loop/Thermal Utility Limitations:
Requires entity that may operate in public ROWs and acrossproperty lines
Utilities are limited by regulations for gas, steam or electric deliveryvs. shared loop media (ambient temperature water).
Only utility entities can provide very long amortization periods
Utilities are best suited to work amid crowded undergroundmunicipal ROWs.
Deep Bore Geothermal Limitations:
Requires test drilling and geological assessment
Seismic Risk
Drilling equipment is very large - more akin to oil and gasdevelopment equipment
Subsurface land rights and DEC restrictions
Other Energy Efficiency/Conservation Measures with proven/attractiveeconomics (these measures are limited by lack of capital or knowledge)
