Owner: Rochester’s Cornerstone Group | Location: Perry, NY
Completion Date: 2020
SCI’s scope for Silver Lake Meadows included an ASHRAE level 2 audit. This project began in early 2020 at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. To accomplish the initial energy assessment during the highly uncertain time, a remote audit of the 52 units across 6 buildings was conducted. The most current guidelines for virtual and remote audits were used including site staff interviews, utility data analysis and a detailed inspection of available photos and project documents. An onsite energy assessment will be performed to verify results when conditions have improved.
Baseline energy models were generated and trued up to match historical utility data. From this, multiple improvement packages could be built, opening a discussion with the team on various scopes of work. Through a combination of upgrades to the heating and DHW systems, apartment windows, thermal envelope, and air sealing measures, an overall energy savings of 556 mmBtu or 21.5% could be achieved. This would result in an annual utility savings of $4,883 for gas and electricity.
Feedback from site staff indicated that the heating and domestic hot water distribution systems are not optimized. Tenants have issues with hot water and heating temperatures. The mechanical and operational recommendations for the project stressed the need to identify the source of these comfort issues and ensure they were addressed as part of the renovation. Tenant education will be important in order to achieve the projected energy savings goals for Silver Lake Meadows. With a better sealed, more insulated envelope, new appliances and upgraded mechanical equipment, some tenant instruction will be valuable to alleviate any overheating habits that may have been developed from pre-renovation building. Informing the maintenance staff on the details of new mechanical equipment will also be important to ensuring they are maintained and managed properly.
Testing and inspection will be performed on any mechanical, water and ventilation equipment to ensure they are performing at modeled levels. Alongside testing, photo documentation of air sealing, new appliances and mechanicals will also be collected. Keeping a clear record of installed measures will allow for a smooth transition towards achieving the energy goals set out in the scope of work.