Today, Con Edison announced that together with its partners it completed a major energy-efficiency upgrade at the One Court Square skyscraper in Long Island City, Queens. As a result, it cut the building’s carbon emissions, and further eased demands on the local power grid, and saving the customer money.
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Indeed, and it is worth noting, the One Court Square project is Con Edison’s largest electric-efficiency retrofit at an office building. Also, Savanna, a New York real estate investment manager, owns the 53-story building.
Reception
Following the announcement, Amaury De La Cruz, program manager for energy efficiency at Con Edison commented in a media release; “In fact, the vast majority of the buildings that exist today in New York City will still be here 50 years from now; therefore, that is why energy efficiency is often our first and best tool for reducing carbon emissions.”
Thus, he continued, “The One Court Square upgrade is a win-win-win for the customer, the environment, and the reliability of New York City’s electric grid.”
As con Edison notes in a media release, the building’s upgrade improved heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Besides, it will help it save an estimated 4.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year; or as much as 20 percent of the building’s previous consumption.
Accordingly, Con Edison said it provided incentives toward the $5.8 million upgrade. Consequently, these improvements will allow the building owner to come out ahead financially in less than a year.
About the One Court Square Project
In addition to reducing overall energy consumption, the upgrade will lower the building’s peak demand for power. Accordingly, this situation will help Con Edison strengthen the reliability of the electric grid in this rapidly developing neighborhood.
Worth noting, One Court Square was outfitted with new smart control technologies. Therefore, unlike older HVAC equipment, newer control systems allow operators to “dim” certain functions. Also, to make changes more smoothly, saving money and improving efficiency.
Finally, machine learning will allow such control systems to evolve and become even more efficient over time.
Final comments
In this sense, Ben Furnas, director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability said; “One Court Square, with the help from Con Edison, is a great example of how we can retool our existing buildings; particularly, to enhance the quality of life today and make them more sustainable for the future.”
Therefore, “we applaud Savanna for taking on a major energy-efficiency upgrade,” continued Furnas. Mainly, “to meet the city’s ambitious carbon emissions targets. Also, to improve the reliability of the electric grid, and increase tenants’ comfort.”
Lastly, Peter Rosenthal, principal, director of development at Savanna commented; “It has been our pleasure working with Con Edison as a partner to achieve significant energy savings; specifically, by upgrading our base building systems in a cost-effective manner.”
In this way, “our objectives at the outset of this important project were to improve energy efficiency and realize cost savings. Also, to enhance the tenant experience at One Court Square, and we have achieved them all,” said Rosenthal.
