The Clinton Climate Initiative and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are joining forces to make the Empire State Building more efficient. The initiative is funding a $20 million reftrofit project for the building that should be completed by the end of 2010.

The project will reportedly produce energy savings of $4.4 million per year and cut energy demand by 38 percent and should enable the building to be LEED Gold certified. Johnson Controls, the company in charge of upgrading the efficiency of the skyscraper, chose eight projects out of 60 possibilities based on which would save both energy and money. Here’s the list of changes that will be made from the company’s website:

• Window Light Retrofit: Refurbishment of approximately 6,500 thermopane glass windows, using existing glass and sashes to create triple-glazed insulated panels with new components that dramatically reduce both summer heat load and winter heat loss.
• Radiator Insulation Retrofit: Added insulation behind radiators to reduce heat loss and more efficiently heat the building perimeter.
• Tenant Lighting, Daylighting and Plug Upgrades: Introduction of improved lighting designs, daylighting controls, and plug load occupancy sensors in common areas and tenant spaces to reduce electricity costs and cooling loads.
• Air Handler Replacements: Replacement of air handling units with variable frequency drive fans to allow increased energy efficiency in operation while improving comfort for individual tenants.
• Chiller Plant Retrofit: Reuse of existing chiller shells while removing and replacing “guts” to improve chiller efficiency and controllability, including the introduction of variable frequency drives.
• Whole-Building Control System Upgrade: Upgrade of existing building control system to optimize HVAC operation as well as provide more detailed sub-metering information.
• Ventilation Control Upgrade: Introduction of demand control ventilation in occupied spaces to improve air quality and reduce energy required to condition outside air.
• Tenant Energy Management Systems: Introduction of individualized, web-based power usage systems for each tenant to allow more efficient management of power usage.

When the project is completed, the Empire State Building will serve as the model for other building upgrades throughout the city under PlaNYC 2007 and for retrofit projects in other major cities.

via Earth2Tech