Runwise

Your building is burning money on cooling. When you think of giant energy wasting systems in buildings, you might think immediately of boilers and heating systems spewing out carbon emissions. But the second biggest source of energy waste is central cooling systems. Almost every central cooling system is running incredibly inefficiently. We break down cooling systems and how to make them more efficient in this video: https://hubs.li/Q02LzZ2f0

Where did Runwise come from? Authority Magazine wrote a profile on our President and Co-Founder, Lee Hoffman: "We wondered what would happen if we owned all the responsibility of running a building’s entire heating system. Customers loved it." https://hubs.li/Q02KYbYJ0

When you think about pollution and carbon emissions, you probably think about cars. But you'd be wrong. It's surprising, but in New York City alone, more than two thirds of emissions come from buildings. According to the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, almost half of the carbon emissions can be attributed to only 2% of buildings. While this may sound like a daunting figure, I don’t think the imbalance itself is an issue. There are over one million structures in New York City, but only a handful of them are massive skyscrapers that house tens of thousands of workers every day. So I think it’s okay if the small handful of buildings used by thousands far outweigh the emissions of all the smaller buildings with only a few tenants. But I think this statistic shows us that we can make much more progress in fighting climate change by focusing on a couple of areas that can have massive impact. Instead of worrying about how we get millions of people to use paper straws instead of plastic, couldn’t we help the environment a lot more just by making the couple of largest buildings in the city a bit more energy efficient? The lowest hanging fruit is to simply stop over-heating and over-cooling buildings. That alone would slash fossil usage by 25%.  Buildings use too much energy because the majority of them are running on controls from the 1960s and 1970s (even if they were installed last year!).These controls literally are just timers, and because they have no idea what the temperatures are inside buildings, they ALWAYS overshoot. Fortunately smart building controls not only have sensors throughout the building to know what the temperature is at any given moment, but they can actually anticipate warmer weather later in the afternoon and proactively adjust the temperature accordingly. NYC has admirable and ambitious goals to reduce emissions from the city’s massive buildings: - 100% net-zero new buildings by 2030 - No fossil-fuel hook-ups in new construction and major renovations by 2030 - 20% reduction in energy consumption for City buildings by 2025 But there is only one viable path to hitting them, and it doesn’t involve cars. It’s using technology to operate NYC’s buildings more economically AND environmentally efficiently.

Real estate is struggling financially. Every cost has gone up massively – taxes, insurance, compliance, labor, energy, and, of course, interest rates. The companies we see having record quarters over the last year seem to be driving sizable cost reductions in a very measurable and accountable way. If you want to win, your customers have to win big, first. Read more: https://hubs.li/Q02KYdtG0

Our CEO was recently on the Building Talk podcast describing an issue that is unfortunately common with large buildings: water line leaks below the foundation. It's important to monitor for these because they can substantially increase your water bills and cause major damage. Plus, most don't realize, when there is a water line leak, all the new cold water pulled in to replace the loss is pushed directly into the boiler. This is really bad. Pushing huge amounts of cold water into a very hot boiler has a damaging impact that significantly shortens the life of the unit. Your water line leak will turn into a very expensive boiler replacement quickly. And we haven't even mentioned the risk to the building foundation and the nightmare of costs associated with that... Water line leaks are very common and hugely expensive, but can be detected easily with inexpensive monitoring. It would be a valuable use of 2 mins of your time to ask if your building has monitoring in place.

There are literally millions of dollars of energy efficiency rebates available from your local utility to make your building more energy efficient. If your building is like most others, you probably haven't claimed much, or any, of that money. And that is a huge missed opportunity. We create a tool (link below) that will find which rebates are available and how to claim them. Try it out: https://hubs.li/Q02JT_lc0

Local Law 97 is a significant concern in New York City, but it's also something for other cities to pay attention to since most large cities are modeling their climate legislation off this law. Here's a recap of a live event we held to discuss how to find your local law 97 fines and the top 5 most cost-effective measures you can take to reduce or avoid the fine: 1. Insulation: Ensure all headers and risers in your heating system are properly insulated. Simple and low-cost. This measure can significantly reduce heating costs and improve your Local Law 97 compliance score. 2. Master Venting and Steam Trap Maintenance: Properly venting and maintaining steam traps ensures your heating system runs efficiently, reducing the energy required to heat your building. 3. Smart Controls: Implementing indoor temperature sensors and smart controls can optimize your heating system’s performance, potentially reducing energy usage by 20-30%. 4. Hot Water Heaters: Installing separate, efficient gas-fired or electric hot water heaters can decrease energy consumption during warmer months when large boilers are typically inefficient. 5. Boiler Downsizing: If necessary, consider downsizing to a modern, high-efficiency boiler. This significant investment can yield substantial long-term savings and help achieve compliance through 2035. You can watch a recording of the full event on our blog here: https://hubs.li/Q02JTNsJ0

Yesterday we posted 3 cost effective steps to help reduce or eliminate building fines from New York City's Local Law 97. Here are two more measures that also provide a high ROI to cost ratio: 1. Install Efficient Hot Water Heaters: In the warmer months, avoid using large, energy-consuming boilers for hot water. Opt for gas-fired or electric hot water heaters to keep boilers off and drastically reduce energy usage during summer. 2. Downsize and Upgrade Boilers: Most buildings have oversized boilers. By downsizing and installing a high-efficiency, four-pass gas-fired boiler, you can make a substantial impact on your Local Law 97 grade and score. This is a cost-intensive step, but the potential savings and efficiency gains are significant. Start with cost-effective measures first, and as you progress, consider these two larger upgrades for long-term compliance and efficiency.

With around 60% to 70% of buildings in NYC facing fines with climate law, Local Law 97, it's critically important to make building improvements now. In collaboration with Ralph Jermaine, one of New York's most experienced engineers, we've crafted a plan to help centrally heated buildings meet compliance targets for 2030 and even 2035. These steps are not only cost-effective but also offer the highest ROI: 1. Insulate Central Heating Systems: Check your basement for missing insulation on risers and headers. This simple and inexpensive measure can significantly reduce heating bills. 2. Mass Prevention and Steam Trap Maintenance: Ensure your steam system is free of air build-up, allowing steam to flow efficiently and reduce unnecessary oil or gas usage. 3. Implement Smart Controls: Utilize indoor temperature sensors to monitor energy usage. This measure can save 20-30% on energy costs and typically pays for itself in under a year, providing a quick ROI.

The summer heat has been brutal for most areas of the US this year - which means most buildings in those areas will see extra high energy bills. The Commercial Property Executive recently published their August issue where we offered some strategies for reducing the cost of cooling buildings. The image below is a short list of a few things that can have a big impact on your energy costs. https://hubs.li/Q02JP4TB0