Emily Myers

Waverly Mews is looking forward to pocketing some big savings when winter comes. The 120-unit co-op in Greenwich Village is expected to slash its winter heating bills by 80% by swapping its old baseboard heating for variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat recovery units — a system that uses heat-pump technology to provide both heating and cooling, but has the added ability to recover and reuse heat that would otherwise be lost. “Not only can the system simultaneously heat and cool the building, but it can extract heat from one area and give it to another,” says Sina Jasteh, founder of Efficiti, the energy and engineering consultancy firm behind the project.

A low-cost shift from basic heating controls to wireless indoor heat sensors is generating more than $40,000 a year in energy savings for shareholders at Seminole Owners Corporation, a 349-unit co-op in Forest Hills. The cost of the upgrades, carried out last August, came in at $14,722 after the project received a $10,578 utility rebate from National Grid. Not only has the move reduced winter heating bills, it’s also cutting emissions and making the apartments more comfortable.

Con Edison incentives covered 70% of the cost for the new fans, lowering the price tag for the condominium from $120,000 to $38,000. (Photo courtesy Rains Energy)

The Foster Arms is the first co-op to use the MEG loan for a solar project, reducing upfront costs for the installation to around $20,000. (Photo courtesy Jesse Gerstin)

With co-op and condo buildings already seven months into the first Local Law 97 compliance period, access to real-time energy data is key to providing clarity on penalty exposure. After a roof replacement and a switch from oil to gas, the board at Westminster House, a 154-unit co-op on the Upper East Side, wanted evidence the building was on track to meet their 2025 emission limits. “We wanted to compare the data on how much energy we were spending several years ago versus now,” says Keith Lite, the board’s vice president.

A new guide is out for large residential buildings, including co-ops and condos, that offers welcome clarifications on how to calculate and report carbon emissions in order to comply with Local Law 97. The 98-page document from the Department of Buildings (DOB) also explains how properties designated under Article 320 — the compliance bracket for most large co-ops and condos — can challenge that status and request an extension for carbon emission reporting. “The commentary is a new effort to synthesize the existing rules and laws in a way to guide behavior,” says William D. McCracken, an attorney at Moritt Hock & Hamroff.

There are no small projects at Co-op City. The massive, 35-building Mitchell Lama complex in the Bronx is the largest co-op in the U.S., so “everything is magnified,” says Cary Smith III, assistant executive general manager at Riverbay Corporation, Co-op City’s corporate entity. A case in point: The co-op is now in the final phase of a $48.5 million elevator modernization project. Completion in early 2025 will mark the conclusion of a five-year undertaking to replace all the aging elevator infrastructure, including 176 cabs, shafts and machinery. “The elevators were breaking down, they didn’t look appealing, the floors were coming up, and it was difficult to get parts for maintenance,” Smith says.

Adding variable frequency drives to the rooftop fans at Linda Tenants Corp. allows for motor speeds to be adjusted without losing capability. (Photo courtesy Bright Power)

Call it a smart way to cut costs and claw back cash for the building. The Oxford, a 199-unit condo on the Upper East Side, is maximizing the payout it gets for reducing energy use during peak demand periods by using automated building sensors and controls. Demand response events generate financial rewards for buildings when they agree to lower energy use during specific hours, typically during summer heatwaves, to protect the grid. The Oxford’s collaboration with the remote HVAC management firm Parity makes it much easier for the high-rise to participate and earn money. “The resident manager isn’t running around manually turning things on and off on the hottest day of the year, which takes forever,” says Joe Cascio, Parity’s service delivery manager.

A Multifamily Express Green loan is helping the board at Residencia Esperanza, a 25-unit HDFC in Hamilton Heights, tackle both outdated infrastructure and carbon emissions. (Photo courtesy Matthew Buttram/NYCEEC)