865 East 167th Street, New York Retrofit

The retrofit project at 865 East 167th Street is a planned decarbonization for a pre-war, affordable, multifamily building in the Bronx. The 6-story, 55-unit, 30,800 square feet building has no wall insulation, minimal assumed roof insulation, and a poor heating system served by an oil-fired steam boiler in the basement. This retrofit project will entail a full envelope refurbishment, installation of individual heat pumps serving apartments, and the cutting-edge implementation of a wastewater heat recovery system for domestic hot water production. In addition to reducing the whole building energy use and utility costs, this retrofit will improve the safety and comfort of tenants living in the building.

Cutting-edge wastewater heat recovery system planned for Bronx pre-war multifamily building. Full refurbishment of the building’s envelope will improve tenant comfort through the addition of insulation to the exterior walls and roof, and replacement of windows. Completed retrofits will reduce energy use in the building by 68%.

The building is typical of existing pre-war mid-rise multifamily building stock in New York City with a leaky envelope, old equipment, and a deteriorating façade. The existing heating system is a fuel-oil fired boiler serving a one-pipe steam distribution system. The condition of the existing equipment necessitates a building rehabilitation regardless of decarbonization efforts, which makes electrification a good option to obtain funding for a system overhaul. Given the existing conditions there is also a high likelihood of operational cost savings from energy improvements. The capital and energy improvements were reasons to pursue decarbonization for this building, and the Empire Building Challenge (EBC) offered a vehicle to hone a decarbonization roadmap and provided a source for funding the project.