Empire State Building: American Icon Saves Energy, Money

The Empire State Building is getting an energy efficiency makeover. Standing as a model for architecture of its time, the legendary skyscraper is now becoming a model of energy efficiency for other large and pre-WWII buildings. There's even an exhibit to showcase the changes in the building and encourage consumers to make energy efficiency changes of their own.

The multi-million dollar retrofit, which began in April 2009 and will end in 2013, consists of eight key renovations. The project is expected to reduce the building’s total energy use by 38 percent, compared with typical commercial retrofits that save only 10 to 20 percent. Although retrofitting this 2.5 million square-foot giant will cost more than $13 million, building owners expect payback within five years after the renovations are complete.

New Exhibit Educates Visitors About Energy Efficiency

In July, the Empire State Building unveiled a multi-media exhibit where visitors learn how to bring home the energy efficiency made in the iconic landmark. The "sustainability exhibit" walks visitors through the building’s retrofit story, and teaches visitors how to incorporate energy efficient building and sustainable living practices into their lives.

The permanent, $2 million exhibit features 15 digital storytelling screens, 18 video players, and four projectors that guide visitors through an interactive “consumer experience,” according to an Empire State Building program release. The millions of people who visit the Empire State Building annually can see the exhibit seven days a week in the visitor’s center from 8 a.m to 2 a.m.

The Empire State's 8 Key Renovations

The retrofit initiative, “Empire State Building, Leadership in American Progress in Sustainability,” involves eight major renovations:

• Replacing existing constant volume air handlers with variable units.
• Re-manufacturing 6,500 double-hung, dual-pane windows on-site; handled by Serious Materials (an Alliance Associate).
• Upgrading existing control systems.
• Retrofitting the chiller plant for reduced cooling loads.
• Providing more tenant daylighting and energy-efficient lighting.
• Installing Tenant Demand Control Ventilation and replacing air dampers with new control dampers.
• Installing 6,000 insulated, reflective barriers in exterior-facing radiators.
• Introducing a Tenant Energy Management system.

This eight-phase retrofit initiative is led by a five member team: the Empire State Building Company (building owners); Clinton Climate Initiative (project advisor); Johnson Controls (energy service company, Alliance Associate); Jones Lang LaSalle (project manager); and Rocky Mountain Institute (design partner, peer reviewer).

To measure baseline energy performance and identify areas for improvement, the project team incorporated ENERGY STAR®’s Portfolio Manager and eQUEST, a free software program by the U.S. Department of Energy that helps model and compare energy saving options.

Energy Sense = Dollars and Cents

Energy cost savings are estimated at $4 million annually after all eight retrofit measures are complete. Given the $13.2 million investment, the building owners expect a three- to five-year payback period. And the project is making steady progress to that end: As of fall 2010, the window refurbishment is complete.

“While tenants cannot see any differences with the new windows,” says Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials, “they will feel them. And they will notice the lower energy bills in the upcoming heating season.”

Those better insulated windows alone will yield more than 10 percent of total energy savings and help reduce peak cooling loads by one-third.

Ultimately, the 79 year-old landmark is projected to achieve an ENERGY STAR® score of 90 out of 100, which means the building will be more efficient than 90 percent of the buildings in the country.

Retrofit Large, Old Buildings to Save Energy Nationally

Buildings consume 40 percent of all energy used in the United States. In urban areas, the numbers are even more acute: New York City’s 22,000 buildings larger than 50,000 square feet consume a whopping 45 percent of the city's total energy. Retrofitting any city’s large, older buildings can save energy on a grand scale.

Given the Empire State Building’s relatively quick payback schedule, project leaders hope that building owners and investors across the country will take on the outward risk of retrofitting large commercial buildings.

As Kevin Surace told USA Today in July: “If you can retrofit the Empire State Building, you can retrofit anything.”

Alliance Intern Julia Sendor contributed to this article.