Carlyle Towers: Ventilation Retrofit Serves as a Model for Multifamily Building Performance
Project Background:
Carlyle Towers in West Caldwell, NJ was the first multifamily building in the country to undergo a comprehensive ventilation retrofit to improve both energy and indoor air quality performance. Results of this project have already been scaled up and implemented in 5,000+ apartments in the NYC metropolitan region alone.
Project Services:
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. provided Energy Analysis and Retrofitting to the project.
Awards:
In 2012, Carlyle Towers received an EBie Award in the Verdant Braniac category for this industry innovation.
Energy Conservation Features:
In 2008, the kitchen and bathroom exhaust ventilation system was upgraded with constant airflow regulators (CARs) to balance ventilation flows and the AEROSEAL system to reduce shaft leakage. Implementing the retrofit resulted in a 30-percent reduction in gas use for space heating. While the owner saved on fuel bills, residents benefited from a balanced and controlled ventilation. The innovative shaft upgrade also allowed Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) to specify new downsized roof fans. These new roof fans were so small that the owner did not believe they would work and initially only ordered one. However, once our team commissioned the first fan, the owner saw immediate results and approved the installation of 24 others, thereby lowering roof fan electricity use by over 50-percent and reducing maintenance requirements. The project’s annual electricity and gas savings are 13% and 30% annually, with an annual cost savings of $29,462.