Our Work

So, exactly how much are we saving you by decarbonizing your building?

For the past 35 years, Greene Energy Consultants has helped promote sustainability through decarbonization and electrification of buildings throughout the East Coast.

Greene Energy Consultants provides a range of services that we will utilize to maximize the resiliency of your building

Our team provide the following services:

Energy sustainability auditing

Electrification planning and design for decarbonization
Retro-commissioning services
Passive House Consulting
Net Zero engineering services
City of Boston MA BERDO and BERDO 2.0 engineering and filing
City of Cambridge BEUDO filing
NYC LL 84, 87, 97 engineering and filing
Energy Star filing and certification

Now, for the details…

Waltham Public Schools Retro-commissioning- Waltham, MA

Buildings

Two middle schools and three elementary schools constructed between 2000 and 2010. The total square footage of the project is 554,067. The school buildings house a 500-seat performing arts center and the city's high school gymnasium complex with four basketball courts, in addition to the traditional public school spaces including classrooms, cafeterias, administration offices, libraries, gymnasiums, and kitchens.

Project Description

The retro-commissioning project included improvements in the building EMS system control strategies and repair of failed devices and sensors. Scheduling was reviewed and modified to match the occupancy and activities of the schools.

Results

The five buildings' total baseline energy consumption was 4,432,960 kWh and 187,705 therms. The documented first year savings were 919,506 kWh and 51,286 therms or a reduction in Energy Usage Index (EUI) of 24%. All savings can be contributed to improvements in the building EMS system control strategies and repair of failed devices and sensors.

https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/127/1a9/img_0929.jpg

https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/173/a8e/img_0930.jpg

https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/12d/839/img_0928.jpg

https://0201.nccdn.net/4_2/000/000/081/4ce/img_0931.jpg

https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/0e2/26d/img_0932.jpg

1735 Market Street Energy Audit and Retro-commissioning- Philadelphia, PA

Building

1735 Market Street is a 1.3 million square foot, 54-story office building located in downtown Philadelphia opened in 1990. The energy star rating for this building was the 58th percentile. The basic HVAC system consists of water-cooled VAV units, one per floor with a central condenser water system. The perimeter radiation is electric baseboard.

Results of Energy Audit

The energy audit identified a 15% savings project of 3.7 million kWh with both capital improvements and a retro-commissioning project.

Results of Retro-commissioning

Retro-commissioning resulted in a documented savings of 1.1 million kWh per year with smart start, nighttime pumping control, and self-contained unit compressor sequencing reducing simultaneous heating and cooling. We also implemented a swipe function that every week returned all set points to the programmed setting. The EMS did not have a temporary override capacity, and this insured that the system returned to design.

Comcast Operation and Call Center Facility ASHRAE Energy Audit Level 2- Hudson, NH

Building

This two-story 168,488 square foot industrial building converted into office space opened in 1997. The building has a full cafeteria and commercial kitchen. The customer service center is operated out of the loading docks. Corporate training spaces are also located in the building.

Projects completed prior to audit

Most of the low hanging energy conservation measures had already been implemented, including LED lighting upgrade, solar film on the windows, exterior wall insulation, and EMS upgrade.

Results

Seven projects were identified with the potential to save approximately 20% of the 2.8 million kWh electric bill and 40% of the 77,000 therms. The proposed projects include the following:

Commissioning of EMS upgrade
Air and Water balancing
Commercial Kitchen upgrades including kitchen hood controls and Walk-in Refrigeration Box Optimizer Controls (CoolTrol)
New Baseline high efficiency chiller
Old RTUs replacements
Improved roof insulation when the original EPDM roof is replaced
150 kW Roof Mounted PV renewable energy

Edgell Memorial Library and Museum Electrification Study- Framingham, MA

Building

The historic registered 10,000 square foot building was built in 1872. building’s A/C system has failed in service. The library is heated by natural gas furnaces. The attic is poorly insulated. The building is a historic landmark limiting the architectural changes.

Recommendations

We recommended installing cellulose attic insulation to reduce the heating load enough for a practical heat pump design for electrification and decarbonization. We designed a three (3) compressor ductless split, 10.5-ton low temperature heat pump system with 14 head HVAC system to supply all the heating and cooling needs of the building. This $150,000 project will electrify and partially decarbonize a historic registered building. Decarbonization is dependent on the electric grid usage of renewable energy.

Salesian Boys and Girls Club- Boston, MA

Building

This 40,000 square foot former Catholic school was constructed in 1960. The primary function of the original building was as a gymnasium and cafeteria for the Salesian Catholic School system located in East Boston. It has been converted into a Boys and Girls Club and the basement level cafeteria split up into class/activities rooms. The schools heating distribution system is failing in service and heating is uneven, noisy, and uncontrollable. The building is minimally air conditioned except a few undersized window A/C units.

Projects completed by owner

Recent renovation includes new code compliant double-glazed windows and R-38 EPDM roof. Since the building is currently used year-round, adequate air conditioning became a priority. The natural gas commercial kitchen equipment has been replaced with all-electric appliances. The gym has been air-conditioned with two 20-ton rooftop split DX systems. Only one of the gym A/C units can be operated due to inadequate electric service.

Proposed project

To address the uneven heating issues and add air conditioning to the school, a low-temperature heat pump solution was selected for the non-gymnasium spaces of the building. Greene Energy Consultants developed the plan to install a low-temperature ductless split space conditioning system. The design and installation overcame several barriers of implementation:

The first barrier was inadequate electric supply to the building for electric heating system, electric commercial kitchen equipment, and the new gym A/C. A new building service was sized to handle the increased electric load due to the heat pump system, but also to supply the building’s commercial kitchen’s new electric cooking equipment and 40 tons of air conditioning for the gymnasium.
In addition, condensate drainage was not practical within the building due to the open ceiling plan. Without hung ceilings the condensate drain piping would have been exposed.

A simple ductless split system heat pump configuration was selected with wall mounted quiet cassettes and rack mounted condensers mounted on the exterior walls. Each room has individual space temperature control, and all thermostats can be programmed for night setback matching individual space schedules. Approximately 45-tons of low-temperature air source was designed to provide 100% of the heating for 25,000 square feet of the Boys and Girls Club at -10 °F. When completed, approximately 75% of the building will be electrified and decarbonized when the grid is fed by renewable energy.

NYSERDA Empire State Challenge for Large Buildings- New York, NY

Challenge

The challenge is to electrify the HVAC systems in tall buildings with the goal of site decarbonization. Greene Energy Consultants was part of the consulting team answering the challenge for Silverstein Properties..

Buildings

The two buildings in the challenge are 120 Broadway (2,000,000 sq ft, built 1909) and 1177 Avenue of the Americas (1,000,000 sq ft built in 1990). Both buildings are heated by ConEd district steam (considered a site carbon source) and cooled by individual floor self-contained water-cooled DX units.

Project Plan

The team developed a plan using a water cooled Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system to heat the building floor by floor utilizing the existing condenser water loop. This allows the building to be converted to all electric HVAC over the next 20 years as the tenant leases expire. The DOAS ventilation system in 1177 AoA will be retrofitted with a Konvekta high efficiency run-around loop energy recovery system with an efficiency above 80%. Pilot energy storage technologies based on PCM (phase change material) storage medium will be tested. Decarbonization is dependent on the electric grid and district steam systems decarbonization.

Our Work

So, exactly how much are we saving you by decarbonizing your building?

Now, for the details…

Contact Us!