YWCA – BROOKLYN, NY
The first phase of the project included a full audit on the building’s existing ventilation systems including video scoping the existing ductwork and taking airflow and fan power measurements. Once the audit was completed the scope of work was developed with project cost estimates and projected energy savings.
Taitem Engineering acted as the energy efficiency consultant and performed design-build services for this project. Taitem performed all work associated with the project including developing energy savings projections, developing design documents, obtaining building permits with the NYC DOB, duct cleaning, duct sealing, airflow control installation, exhaust fan replacement, and balancing and commissioning. Taitem also performed one-year post-retrofit monitoring of the project to confirm that the energy savings were achieved.
The main goals of the project were to improve indoor air quality for the residents of the building while reducing overall building energy usage. Prior to completing the retrofit the buildings ventilation systems were unbalanced with some areas of the building being greatly over-ventilated, leading to uncomfortable conditions, and other areas under-ventilated leading to indoor air quality issues. In order to achieve these goals the existing ductwork would be sealed, systems would be balanced with constant airflow regulators, and exhaust fans replaced. The total projected electrical and natural gas savings for this scope of work were 60,390 kWhy/r and 16,330 therms/year respectively resulting in annual cost savings of $26,190/yr, or 11% source energy savings.
The project successfully achieved its goal of improving indoor air quality for the residents of the building while reducing overall energy usage. This audit-design-build-measure-verify approach is very important to ensure that the original project goals were not lost through construction and after project completion. This approach ensured that costs were kept low which was critical for this client as they are a non-profit that provides housing for low-income women.
YEAR 2014
BUDGET