Fine-tuning the heat in
multifamily buildings
Case Study
Company Name:
Prestige Management
Business Type:
Multifamily
Location:
New York, New York
BY THE NUMBERS:
20 buildings
23 employees trained
Diverse audience:
0 to 33 years of
building operations
experience
Overview
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
and the Association for Energy Aordability (AEA) completed a building operator
training demonstration project with Prestige Management, Inc. — a real estate
management company in New York City. The project explored the impacts
of customized energy eciency training for proper understanding and use of
building controls on dierent types of heating systems.
Smart Investments in Operations and Maintenance
Building operators are key to keeping buildings running smoothly and performing
at their best. Smart building owners know that skilled building operators can
find problems early, before they become a major complication and expense.
Prestige Management recognizes that a well-designed, well-implemented building
operations and maintenance training program will extend equipment life, reduce
operating costs, maintain energy eciency, and improve overall building conditions
and occupant experience.
Targeted Training
AEA worked with Prestige Management to design a training program that focused
on their highest building operations priorities—heating systems and building
controls—and fit into the busy work schedules of building operators and managers.
The training was a three-day condensed version of standard building operator
training, with a heavy focus on heating systems and energy management system
(EMS) equipment optimization. Managers and building operators participated in the
training sessions.
AEA’s heating and cooling lab lets
students directly see systems in
action. The boiler lab includes heating,
cooling, and domestic hot water-making
equipment, energy management
systems, and other controls.
High-definition video allows students
in remote classrooms to participate in
this experience. The lab also features a
functional gas-fired hydronic condensing
boiler and furnace equipment, ductwork,
and inverters connected to AEA’s
rooftop Solar PV arrays.
“ I am responsible for
80 boilers. This was a
great class and made
me more appreciative
of the need for energy
eciency”
— Prestige Property Manager
What Was Learned
Part of condensing the training curriculum consisted of holding separate sessions for
operators with steam heating and hot water systems. Topics specific to each heating
system type did not need to be covered in full in all sessions. The training covered
the following:
• Operations and maintenance processes
• Developing an energy master plan
• Building science basics (e.g., energy and heat, heat transfer in buildings, air sealing
priorities, moisture transport in buildings)
• Combustion science and boiler and burner basics
• Hydronic heating system operation and maintenance or steam heating system
operation and maintenance
• Energy management systems for hot water boilers or energy
Results
All training participants surveyed indicated that the training met or exceeded their
expectations, with nearly two thirds ndicating it “far exceeded expectations.” Building
operators described an improved understanding of their building systems and an
increase in awareness and appreciation for energy eciency best practices.
Following the training, Prestige Management incorporated a checklist focusing on
best practices related to EMS operations at their buildings.
On average, buildings with trained operators reduced
their heating energy use by 5% when compared to
the prior year.
Energy savings varied widely between buildings, as building operations and energy
use can be aected by many factors. This demonstration project shows overall
positive results for energy-use reductions following the training. Training helped to
spark improvements in building operations, implementation of best practices, and
energy eciency awareness, which continues to resonate across the entire portfolio
of buildings.
Next Steps
Based on the success of the initial training sessions, AEA and Prestige Management
are expanding their building operator training program with the assistance of
NYSERDA. They will be training an additional 51 operators through a comprehensive
four-part energy eciency training series for additional operations improvements.
Learn more about clean energy workforce
development opportunities with NYSERDA
Visit: nyserda.ny.gov/wfd
Email: wfi[email protected].gov for information
WF-aea-prestige-cs-1-v2 4/21