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Technical papers and best practices
In addition to conducting technical studies for federal and state agencies, utilities, developers, and property owners, Taitem provides quality assurance services to incentive providers to ensure projects meet program standards.
Our engineers look closely at performance data from real buildings and provide best practices and insight into energy improvements, electrification strategies, and carbon reduction approaches—knowledge that directly strengthens our service offerings and benefits our clients.
Below is a selection of reports and lessons learned from this work to support our peers and clients.
BUILDING ENVELOPE
Proper characterization of the building envelope is critical to any energy reduction plan. This paper describes how to calculate the effective U-value of a building assembly and de-rating insulation.
Reducing over-ventilation in existing buildings is a powerful way to help meet your energy target. Many multifamily buildings have higher ventilation rates than required by current codes...
Looking beyond Energy Star ratings. There is no simple rule of thumb for selecting windows for multi-family buildings, although mid-rise and high-rise buildings normally require windows...
V-Strip windows
Windows are a major source of air leakage in buildings and replacement is expensive. Installing plastic self-adhering V-strip weatherstripping provides an opportunity for increasing ...
COMMISSIONING
This paper summarizes new Cx requirements according to Section C408 of the 2016 NYC ECC. NYS has established significant energy goals in its Reforming the Energy Vision strategy. In Oct 2016...
This paper summarizes new Cx requirements according to 2020 NYS ECC Section C408, and 2018 IECC for New Construction. NYS has established significant energy goals in its Reforming the Energy...
A summary with tables outlining the commissioning requirements and process for new construction and substantial renovation projects under the new commercial construction code...
HEATING, VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING
This paper gives best practices for preventing refrigerant leaks while installing heat pumps. Refrigerant charging and leak prevention are critical. Leaks contribute substantially to climate change...
Because heating is typically the highest single energy end use in multifamily buildings in New York State, the use of heat pumps is a primary electrification strategy. The decision whether to use VRFs...
An anecdotal report of high energy savings at a 12-unit apartment building, resulting from the replacement of an old steam boiler with a new hot water (hydronic) boiler, led to a survey of similar ...
There are many different terms to describe heating system efficiency, and some of those terms have more than one definition. "Combustion efficiency, "thermal efficiency," and "boiler efficiency" can all have...
LIGHTING
LED lighting efficiency is advancing rapidly, which can be challenging when predicting energy savings and specifying upgrades. This tech tip is intended to help energy auditors avoid insufficient light...
This paper provides minimum standards and acceptable assumptions for energy savings when specifying LED lamps as replacements for general purpose screw-in A-shape incandescent...
Stairwell lighting offers opportunities for significant energy savings. Many stairwells have more illumination than is required for safety. Furthermore, many stairwells are illuminated continuously...
Corridor lighting offers possibilities for significant energy savings. Many corridors have more illumination than is required for safety. This paper discusses the concept of lighting power density as a means..
OTHER
This paper focuses on how to use an Energy Management System to better control the run time of the boiler or the temperature of the water circulated through the building...
Energy improvement projects are construction projects, and successful scheduling is part of any successful construction project. If you cannot stay on schedule, then the owner may be dissatisfied...
The Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings 179D Tax Deduction is a tax incentive that aims to drive owners and designers of tax-exempt buildings to reduce their energy use by rewarding the ...
Leaking shower diverter valves
An overlooked energy conservation measure, a leaky diverter valve leaves unused water flowing out of the bathtub spout going straight down the drain, wasting water and the energy used to heat that water..
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