The 1.7 million multifamily housing units in New York City (NYC) account for more than half of the city’s total occupied housing units – and most were built without individual thermostat controls.
Therefore, it is commonplace, when an apartment becomes too warm, for tenants to open windows to control the temperature – creating a large source of energy waste.
But installing thermostatic radiator valves (TRV) in buildings with no controls on existing radiators could save New Yorkers a great deal of money.
A recent study conducted by consulting firm Power Concepts LLC and sponsored by Danfoss showed that if every multifamily building in New York City installed TRVs, the total energy cost savings could soar to approximately 100 million USD annually.
Investment paid back in 3 years
Power Concepts LLC installed 269 Danfoss TRVs in two New York City apartment complexes that were built in the 1920s and contain a total of 128 apartments and 445 radiators. In both apartment complexes, the return on investment for the technology is as short as three years, whereas other energy efficiency upgrades such as replacing windows to conserve energy could take 15 to 20 years to produce similar results.
The findings were presented recently when Danfoss Heating Solutions in North America and the Alliance to Save Energy, a non-profit organization that promotes energy efficiency worldwide, held a technology-focused event in New York City.
The event “Energy Efficiency: The Path to NYC’s Residential Transformation” convened an audience of more than 75 property managers and engineers and hosted high-level speakers from New York City associations and government to address the importance of building energy efficiency.
The event was designed to inform attendees about the strategies New York City is developing or already utilizing to improve the city’s energy efficiency, and then showcase how one practical technology – Danfoss TRVs – can be deployed immediately to start making an impact.
U.S. Congresman Paul Tonko (pictured above) and the president of the NGO Alliance to Save Energy, Kateri Callahan were among the speakers at the event.