A diverse group of multifamily building owners, contractors, architects, energy professionals, State and City officials, neighbors, and residents assembled in the cafeteria of The MacDougal Street Apartments in Brooklyn on Thursday, Sept 4th to attend a Building Celebration organized by NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program (MPP).
The building was selected for this NYSERDA Building Celebration from a competitive field of applicants, all of them buildings that won recognition and earned incentives for saving energy under the Multifamily Performance Program of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Michael Colgrove, Director of NYSERDA’s New York City Office, explained how incentives from the Multifamily Performance Program reduce the project costs and noted the key role played by the Association for Energy Affordability as an experienced MPP Partner, modeling the projected energy usage, assisting with the work scope and heating system design, and helping to keep the project on track.
Attendees learned from Elizabeth Lunde of Concern for Independent Living about the factors that led the nonprofit and its development team to work with AEA as its NYSERDA MPP Partner to guide the design and construction of the project to achieve its energy targets, resulting in a high-performance, ENERGY STAR® certified building. She described how designing for energy savings helped the organization secure financing and is now helping Concern to keep operating costs low.
They heard AEA’s Gina Buffone describe the innovative building systems and construction methods (including a modular construction process) that led the building to rise up from its foundation and first floor to six stories with 65 units of supportive housing in a mere 12 days, and the construction oversight, analysis, construction oversight, testing, and verification role played by AEA.
They saw the high-efficiency condensing boilers and heat recovery ventilation system, and admired the well-designed, energy-efficient lighting in the hallways. They rode in the high-efficiency, gearless elevator to see the extensive rooftop solar PV array. And they heard from building residents about the difference their new home had made in their lives and how it had piqued their environmental interests.
AEA is a nonprofit energy consulting and services firm and a longstanding NYSERDA MPP Partner with some 40 new construction and gut rehab projects completed or underway in the new construction component of the NYSERDA program, and over 100 in the Program’s existing buildings component. AEA also implements utility energy efficiency programs and delivers certification training for building management staff, energy auditors, contractors, and others to help them deliver energy savings for their clients, employers, and building residents.
Read more about AEA’s Green Building Design Services.
To learn how AEA’s services can help your new multifamily project or existing building become more energy efficient with NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program, email us at mppinfo@aea.us.org or call Gina Buffone at 718 292-6733 ext. 8210.
