AEE – NY’s 2024 Energy Project of the Year

The International Tailoring Company Building has been named 2024’s Energy Project of the Year by the New York Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). This prestigious recognition is awarded to a project that pioneers novel solutions, especially first-of-their-kind approaches with a focus on savings, visibility, and actualized achievements.

The International Tailoring Company Building (ITCoB) is a 180-unit co-op residential building near Union Square in NYC. The building underwent a comprehensive overhaul to reduce GHG emissions, improve resident comfort and efficiency, and avoid Local Law 97 fines for carbon emissions. Despite the need for in-unit work, residents were not required to vacate their homes outside of standard working hours.

Eric Einstein, president of the co-op board, maintains that the project benefited from Ecosystem’s integrated engineering and construction approach. “This approach allowed them to design the initial system and then keep designing not only as we were leading up to starting the project but even during the project. There were modifications made: what about this, and we could do that, and we could tweak this that way or this way — and that never stopped throughout the whole process,” he explained.

Taking a hybrid electrification approach, the retrofit included upgrading the HVAC system with air-to-water heat pumps and condensing boilers to supplement the heating load on the coldest days, resulting in an 80% reduction in natural gas usage. Residents today benefit from individual control of heating and cooling throughout the year, a significant improvement over the previous switchover system in the building. Innovative enhancements, such as variable flow systems and modular fan systems, significantly decreased energy consumption. The project achieved strong annual energy savings, including 9,718 MMBtu of gas using only an additional 220,285 kWh of electricity.

“Securing the 2024 Energy Project of the Year award is not just a win for our team; it’s a milestone for efficiency in the building decarbonization sector,” said Ecosystem founder André Rochette.

“This honor reflects our core mission: to revolutionize efficiency at every level. It’s about engineers taking ownership of their designs and embracing an outcome-based delivery model that benefits our communities and the environment. Our triumph stems from New York’s forward-thinking strategy on climate change, encouraging and pushing owners to surpass conventional solutions.”

Today the ITCoB’s retrofit serves as a model for effective sustainability initiatives in urban settings, promoted by NYSERDA and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability.