Large commercial and residential buildings must overcome various hurdles before implementing deep retrofits or capital projects that help achieve building decarbonization.






Access to Occupied Spaces.


Lease Concerns.


Regulatory Limitations - Rent Stabilized Apartments

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


Split Incentives (tenants pays for energy).






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






Con Edison Steam: assume district steam system will decarbonize:



High temperature renewable resources are limited and face hurdles:
1Deep Bore Geothermal
2Renewable Hydrogen
3Carbon Capture and Sequestration
4Biomethane
5Electric Boilers
6High-temperature thermal storage
7Hight-temperature industrial heat pumps
8Waste Heat Capture and Reuse
9Fission




Barriers to Electrification:



Utility Capacity Limitations:
1

Building Electric Capacity Upgrades

  • Electric Riser Capacity
  • Switchgear Expansion
  • New Service/Vault Expansion/Point-of-Entry Space Constraints

  • Capacity competition with other electrification needs: 

    1. Space Heat and Cooling
    2. DHW
    3. Cooking
    4. Pumps and Motors


2

Local Network Electric Capacity Upgrades

  • Excess Distribution Facility Charges (EDF)
  • Contributions in Aid of Construction (CIAC)
3

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)
4

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: 

    1. Fire Danger
    2. Space Constraints
    3. Electri Distribution Limitations
    4. Structural Loads


  • Building Automation/BMS/Demand Response: 

    1. Cost
    2. Integration Limitations; blackbox software
    3. Microgrid Development
      1. Cost
      2. Lack of Expertise


  • On-site Generation: 

    1. Space Constraints
    2. Gas Use; zero carbon fuels availability is non-existent
    3. Structural Loads
    4. Pipe Infrastructure


5

Thermal Storage

  • Space Constrains
  • Structural Loads

  • Technology Limitations: 

    1. Vacuum insulated storage tanks
    2. Phase change material (DHW, space heating)


6

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: 

    1. Building water loops are typically “top down” - cooling capacity istypically located at rooftop mechanical penthouses; cooling towersat roof.
      1. Some exceptions to this rule
    2. Space Constraints


  • Drilling Difficulty: 

    1. Outdoor Space Constraints for Geothermal Wells
    2. Difficult permitting
    3. Mud and cuttings disposal
      1. Contaminated soil disposal
    4. Overhead Clearance Constraints for Drilling in Basements/Garages


  • Shared Loop/Thermal Utility Limitations: 

    1. Requires entity that may operate in public ROWs and acrossproperty lines
    2. Utilities are limited by regulations for gas, steam or electric deliveryvs. 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 undergroundmunicipal ROWs.


  • Deep Bore Geothermal Limitations: 

    1. Requires test drilling and geological assessment
    2. Seismic Risk
    3. Drilling equipment is very large - more akin to oil and gasdevelopment equipment
    4. Subsurface land rights and DEC restrictions


7

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

  • Lighting with Lighting Controls
  • High-efficiency electrically commutated motors (ECM)
  • Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on pumps and motors
  • Retrocommissioning Tasks and Maintenance
8

Behavioral Modification

  • Staggered Work Scheduling
  • Telework

  • Submetering and Billing: potentially creates split incentive betweenlandlord and tenant: 

    1. Water
    2. Electric
      1. Onerous regulatory compliance
    3. Heat and Cooling
      1. Rent stabilized builidings prohibit biling for heat









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


Building Code


Glazing Reduction at odds with aesthetic/marketability concerns


Difficult installing with occupied spaces


Reduce Local Law 11 recurring cost via overcladding

  • Aesthetic Concerns
  • At odds with historic preservation
  • Capital intensive
  • Lot Line Limitations


Technology Limitations

  • Need higher R-value/inch for thinner wall assemblie: 

    1. Vacuum insulated panels
    2. Aerogel panels/batts
    3. Zero-GWP blowing agents for closed cell spray foam (nitrogen blowingagent needs to be more widely adopted)







Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV)

  • Space Constraints
  • System Tie-in point accessibility/feasibility


Rooftop Supply Air (Reznor) Unit Alternatives

  • Heat Pump Alternatives to eliminate resistance heat
  • Combine with ERV


HVAC Load Reduction (HLR) Technology

  • Vent or Capture Exhaust Gases
  • Space Constraints
  • System Tie-in point accessibility/feasibility


Central vs. Decentralized Ventilation Systems


Direct Outside Air System (DOAS)

  • Modular Perimeter Ducted Air Heat Pumps: 

    1. Competition for Leasable Space
    2. Space Constraints



Ventilation Points-of-Entry

  • Aesthetic Concerns
  • Lot Line Facades/Building Setbacks
  • Competition with Leasable Space
  • Space Constraints






Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF)

  • Fire and Life Safety concerns over volume of refrigerant gas located withinoccupied spaces.


Regulatory Risk from new refrigerant policies


PTAC and VTAC


Ducted Supply/Exhaust Air Source Heat Pumps


Domestic Hot Water

  • Central DHW Systems: 

    1. Limited domestic production

    2. Performance not confirmed by independent third-parties

    3. More demonstration projects needed


  • Decentralized DHW Systems


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

  • air source that has a manifold connection to interconnect with water source orrefrigerant gas distribution
  • interconnectivity/simplified heat exchange between refrigerants/water/air, etc.
  • Other optionality and add-ons





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



Domestic production and supply chain is limited


Small players operating in this space


Technology is not tested over long operational periods

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






Green Hydrogen


Renewable Natural Gas






Biofuel


Biomethane








REC Purchasing

  • NYSERDA monopolizes REC purchasing from renewable energy projects






Deployment timeline is highly uncertain


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






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