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.

The session will describe the Empire Building Challenge (EBC) process and Resource Efficient Electrification, expanding on the recent BuildingEnergy Magazine article on the same topic. We will update our learnings based on the work conducted by Cohort 1 of the Empire Building Challenge, and we'll be able to announce Cohort 2, as well as examining the work conducted with that group of real estate owners and MEP engineers. We're excited to continue updating the NESEA community on these efforts.

In 2021, HPD and NYSERDA launched a joint $24 million pilot giving direct grants to HPD Preservation projects to (holistically) electrify hot water, space heating or both. This was possible by relying on HPD's rigorous oversight paired with dedicated Technical Assistance from Steven Winter Associates and Taitem Engineering. By Fall 2022, we will have our first cohort (nearly 175 housing units) under construction and be in the design stages with a second cohort.

Current pathways to carbon emission reductions are primarily driven through electrification of heating via heat pumps. Types of heat pump technology that are underutilized in the NYC area are ground source heat pumps (GSHP)/geothermal energy and other thermal networks. Heating and cooling from geothermal energy and other thermal networks are not novel technologies and have been used in urban areas in North America and Western Europe for some time. However, these systems are still facing barriers to adoption.

As we look to comply with NYC Local Law 97 (LL97), we must efficiently leverage other energy-related laws in order to make more cost-effective, timely, and holistic decisions regarding electrification and carbon reduction upgrades. Our panel will discuss the timelines of NYC laws for buildings, how they are interconnected, and how they can be leveraged.