Owner: Edgemere Development | Location: Albany, NY
Completion Date: Ongoing
The Ida North project owned by Albany Housing Authority and developed by Edgemere consists of Ida Yarbrough, two identical high rise towers containing a total of 224 units, and North Albany duplexes, consisting of 80 duplex buildings (160 units). The project provides affordable housing for seniors, disabled tenants and families.
Sustainable Comfort provided an energy audit to meet the RAD PCA and HFA 4% bond requirements. As part of the recommendations, the Ida Yarbrough towers will be wrapped with exterior insulated panels, providing a new aesthetic to the towers as well as substantially improved thermal performance.
A goal of the renovation is to reduce tenant inconvenience by providing assisted temporary relocation, addressing a major challenge in occupied rehab planning and execution. The North Albany duplexes replaced older, low efficiency mechanical systems with new high performance heating, cooling and domestic hot water equipment, substantially reducing space conditioning and water heating energy and costs.
Overall the anticipated site energy savings are projected to be around 20% with a total reserved incentive of $278,800 through the NYSERDA Flex-Tech and Multifamily Performance Programs.
Energy Savings Analysis and Reporting
Sustainable Comfort conducted an energy audit at Ida Yarbrough Apartments on May 16, 2019. The preliminary Energy Conservation Recommendations resulting from this audit are shown below along with interactive energy and cost savings projections.
| Category | Recommendations | MMBTU Savings | Annual Cost Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting | Common area and hallway lights to LED plus bi-level and occupancy sensor controls | 316 | $6,660 |
| All in-unit lighting to LED | 21 | $756 | |
| Building Enclosure | Add insulation to roof to achieve R-30 | 49 | $505 |
| Install fire alarm interactive mechanical louvers on all fixed openings at tops of stairwells as permitted by code | N/A | N/A | |
| Wrap building walls with 2.75” XPS foam insulation, R-13.75 | 891 | $9,059 | |
| Space Conditioning | Upgrade heating recirculation pumps with Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) | 21 | $788 |
| Domestic Hot Water | Add recirculation control to domestic hot water circulation pump with demand control and temperature modulation control | 96 | $4 |
| Ventilation | Seal ventilation ductwork with aerosolized sealant such as Aeroseal. Install CAR dampers at each kitchen and bathroom register. Replace rooftop fans with direct drive fans with static pressure control if or where not incorporated into ERV | 488 | $4,962 |
| Electrical Systems | Sub-meter apartments for electricity | N/A | N/A |
| Renewable Energy | Add solar PV to offset owner electric costs | TBD | TBD |
| Operations & Maintenance | Upgrade refrigerators to ENERGY STAR qualified appliances as replacement is required. Inspect all refrigerators for current conditions including door gaskets | N/A | N/A |
| Health & Safety | Air seal electrical, plumbing and other penetrations to reduce air and pest movement between apartments. Air seal all penetrations exposed during kitchen and bathroom renovations | 283 | $2,873 |
| Total Annual Savings | 2,163 | $25,607 |
Wall Insulation Panels
The primary energy savings for the project is through the addition of insulated wall panels to the exterior of the building. The Kingspan DesignWall 2000 panels provide an additional R-13.75 insulation to the outside of the existing masonry building. This system is highly repeatable for large masonry buildings to super insulate and reduce energy use.
Wall Detail: Credit PLAN Architecture
Preparing for Panels November 2021