Single Family/Low Rise
The Water-Energy Nexus
It takes water to make energy and it takes energy to make water. In some buildings, the cost of water is significantly greater than the cost of HVAC+DHW energy, yet we don’t address it. Simple water retrofits can greatly increase the cash flow in a building. There are also many things that we use on a day to day basis that use immense amounts of water, and controlling this use reduces local and regional water consumption.
REVIVE 2024: A Streamlined Retrofit Design Framework
Building retrofits need to scale now, but face many constraints that create pressure on project teams, making it difficult to design optimal retrofit solutions. In response, Phius has developed REVIVE 2024, a new standard for passive building retrofits with a supporting software tool. The standard is guided by thermal resilience as a leveling metric, and a whole building life cycle cost analysis (including the cost of embodied and operational carbon) to help choose an optimal retrofit package. The result is a cost-effective retrofit with minimal embodied carbon.
Policy Process Panel: Demystifying Codes & Standards Development
National model codes serve as an essential tool for policymakers to drive progress on climate goals. In this panel, representatives from the International Code Council (ICC), NYSERDA, and the New Buildings Institute (NBI) will discuss the codes and standards development process, and how it connects to policy and practice at the local and building scale.
Counting the True Cost of Carbon to Make the Case for Deep Energy Retrofits
There is considerable debate about the relative benefits of electrification with heat pumps and envelope improvements. It has been suggested that Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) are impractical & not cost effective. However, when an accurate Social Cost of Carbon is considered, DERs begin to look much more financially feasible. We apply a systems thinking lens to explore how carbon emissions are valued. We will present two multifamily DER examples to show the operational and embodied carbon reduction potential.
Clean Energy from Dirty Water: Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) System Showcase
New York City's clean energy goals require deep energy retrofits and innovative technologies for compliance. Wastewater energy transfer (WET) systems, which extract thermal energy from wastewater for reuse in building systems, are one technology that is scalable for many building systems. Our discussion will utilize a real project in New York City to discuss building candidates, the benefits and challenges of design and implementation, and the difficulties encountered in planning and installing a real system.
The Path to Greener HVAC Refrigerants
Transitioning to Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants is outlined as a key strategy for New York State to achieve its long-term climate goals. During this session, you’ll gain a better understanding of existing state (focus on NY) and Federal initiatives, regulations, and history impacting the use of refrigerants in heat pumps and other HVAC equipment, the existing equipment and refrigerant options available today, and the challenges facing New York City and its workforce in adopting this technology.
A Successful Approach to Achieving Passive House at Scale
Successful Passive House teams throughout North America follow an approach that, if replicated at scale, can reduce the energy load and carbon output of the built environment at the level needed to address climate change, while improving building quality. Effective scaling requires maintaining an integrated team from early design through construction completion. In this session, we will identify challenges in the Passive House process and share the details of a proven approach to integrating teams, which can be easily and repeatably implemented in projects of all sizes and types.
Prescription for Better Buildings: Phius Prescriptive Path from Start to Plaque
Phius (formerly the Passive House Institute U.S.) introduced a new version of their certification standard in 2021 with the goal of making it easier and more affordable for single-family residential homes to achieve certification. In this presentation, you will learn about this new Prescriptive Path and how it can simplify the design and certification process for single-family homes and make certification available for a wider range of project teams, project sizes and project budgets.
Thermal Bridging '22 What to Know and What to Do
Thermal Bridging can lead to problematic condensation, increased energy usage, reduced occupant comfort, and even noncompliance with energy codes. However, we have the tools to address this challenge. In this session, we will review the three types of structural thermal bridging, briefly cover foundation and slab edge insulation placement and detailing, summarize the conductive thermal requirements of the Energy Codes and, most importantly, identify strategies to calculate the impact on code compliance of structural thermal bridging conditions and mitigated details.
Collaborating for Community Decarbonization
How can the residents of “Energy Town, USA” meet their carbon emissions reduction goal in a way that lifts up their entire community? Working interactively and collaboratively in small breakout groups, participants in this workshop will develop innovative solutions to this challenge. As facilitators, NEEP staff will guide each group with best practices and deep knowledge from their own work in various communities across the Northeast. Context points from real towns will be shared regarding building stock, homebuyer markets, economic parameters, and more.