Hamilton Heights Condo Cuts Emissions with Cost-Effective Upgrades

For co-ops and condos needing to balance energy efficiency with financial constraints, the experience of 668 Riverside Drive, a 64-unit prewar condo in Hamilton Heights, offers insights. The building recently fine-tuned its boiler and steam heat operations to reduce costs by around 10% — without the need for an assessment. The work, including an initial energy audit, cost around $25,000 after NYSERDA and Con Edison incentives covered roughly 50% of the upgrades.

Over 51% of condo units are sponsor-owned and rent-stabilized, which means the building is not required to meet strict carbon emissions under Local Law 97. “Compliance pathways are a bit more lenient for buildings like ours,” says board president Daniel Derouchie. Energy-saving measures — known as prescriptive pathways — are still required, but major infrastructure projects are not mandated. Instead, the necessary work includes a range of energy conservation measures but to avoid fines the deadline for completion was December 2024.

Luckily, the board at 668 Riverside Drive, which received a D rating for energy efficiency in 2020, was ahead of the game. However, there were still obstacles: Initially the board hoped their property manager could take the lead on the work, but that didn’t pan out. “With accounting, billing and all the day to day management micro-dramas, it was just falling through the cracks,” Derouchie says. In addition, the condo’s reserves had been depleted by a pre-pandemic gas leak requiring all new gas lines.

With limited funds, dreams of electrification gave way to less complex upgrades. The condo has a one-pipe steam system. In winter many apartments were overheating. “The steam was getting to some parts of the building faster than others,” says Keirnyn Ross, president of Ross Energy Consulting, who came in to advise the board. The solution was master venting, which involved strategically adding vents to pipes and radiators to allow heat to travel more efficiently through the system. Ross compares this to leveling the playing field in a race: “If every apartment has the right size air vent, the steam gets to the finish line in the apartment at the same time.” The adjustments prevent large variations in apartment temperatures and reduce overheating.

Compounding the inefficiency of the steam system, the building’s boiler was running 24/7. To improve control, boiler controls were updated. An exterior temperature sensor was relocated from an exposed side of the building on Riverside Drive to a more protected north-facing wall, stabilizing sensor readings. The board also contracted with technology and service provider Runwise to install indoor temperature sensors in apartments and stairwells. These sensors provide real-time data and are monitored and adjusted by Runwise to enable more precise boiler controls and to generate savings.

The most challenging aspect of the upgrades was getting access to apartments to add vents to the radiators and risers. “It took a tremendous effort to coordinate with residents,” Derouchie says. The board issued legal notices warning of fines for denied access and also paid the assistant super an extra hourly rate to take on the project, knocking on doors and getting commitments from residents.

The effort brings the building into compliance with Local Law 97. For buildings taking advantage of prescriptive pathways, a one-time compliance report is due by May 1. “The fines could have been as high as $20,000 per year” for not doing the work or failing to file a report, Derouchie says. For buildings that have missed the December deadline, penalty mitigation requests must be filed to the Department of Buildings by May 1. Eligibility for a penalty reduction hinges on paperwork showing either an unforeseen event preventing compliance, an energy project underway, or proof that a mediated resolution has been entered into showing good-faith efforts to comply with the law.