Glossary of Building Science Terms

Air Barriers

Is a series of materials that air cannot leak through, joined to each other by airtight compressions. Henry Book 1 pg.70+ 103

Air Compressors

A pump that works to control the circulation of refrigerant in a HVAC system. The compression of refrigerant raises its temperature above the surrounding atmosphere. The squeezing action also pressurizes the refrigerant to its liquefying point so it can flow through the system. The hot, pressurized, liquified refrigerant flows to a condenser coil where it gives up its excess heat to the cooler atmosphere.

Air Handlers

A fan that usually brings in outside fresh air and supplies it to the building. Often used for corridors with outdoor air in post 1980 buildings, you have corridors that are sort of have outdoor air, pushed into them fresh air. They don’t actually do that with apartment spaces in 99% of buildings. And you know they have a fan, some sort of heating or cooling, you know system that makes sure that air isn’t too hot or too cold exhaust fans we talked about and that’s kind of another thing so it’s kind of captured in two categories of what?

Air Sealing

Are the the gaps, cracks and holes in the envelope of the building that cause comfort problems, drafts and contribute to over and under heating in some apartments. I.e. open windows, leaks around window ACs, gaps around common doors. This is an operational type of work. Some types of solutions include weather stripping, caulking, and sealants. It’s a big O&M issue. You are never done with it and as long as people keep opening their windows, it won’t solve much. Thats a bigger issue. - MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Appliances

This refers to stoves, refrigerators, washers/dryers, and dishwashers.

Stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers require access to tenant spaces. Washers/dryers usually refer to common areas.
Electric stoves are really not an energy efficiency things so much, or stoves in general, but going from gas to electric stoves is a huge health impact.
Only in AMEEP besides refrigerator
ECM Link

Benchmarking

Is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. Wikipedia

Building Science

“the collection of scientific knowledge that focuses on the analysis of the physical phenomena affecting buildings. Building physics, architectural science and applied physics are terms used for the knowledge domain that overlaps with building science.” Wikipedia

Boilers

A device that heats water, usually for heating a building, sometimes boiling the water to produce steam, sometimes keeping the water as a liquid that is pumped to heaters throughout the building. Many boilers also heat water to faucets. (Henry Book pg. 514-518)

Expanded: Heat water, or turns water into steam and uses taht as a medium for circulatiing that heat. Bigger buildings [like downstate has] usually don’t have the space to circulate heat through the air [like furnaces] and can get a lot more heat energy within a smaller space using water or steam.

Boiler Burner Replacement: The boiler and the burner are obviously the big, the big thing that, you know, heats most of these buildings, the downstate market, and you know, their points for rather than just kind of a clean in tune, you’re you’re sort of fully replacing that that burner. And that’s kind of a more significant kind of project.

Borough-Block-Lot (BBL)

Parcel numbers identify the location of buildings or properties. Portal 311

Building Identification Number (BIN)

A unique identifier for each NYC building.The DOB uses BINs to track permits, codes, and violations.

Building Management System

Ignore, energy management system is more common in residential.

Capillary Suction

Is the transport of liquids in porous solids due to surface tension acting in capillaries. Science direct

Capital Improvements

Is any addition or alteration to real property that meets all three of the following conditions:

It substantially adds to the value of the real property, or appreciably prolongs the useful life of the real property.
It becomes part of the real property or is permanently affixed to the real property so that removal would cause material damage to the property or article itself.
It is intended to become a permanent installation. DTF

Central Air Conditioning

Means any building that has a set large central cooling system, usually that supplies chilled water (so not 180 degrees, hot water, but 55 degree chilled water) with a chiller that circulates throughout the building. And then a fan and every individual unit blows over a coil that the chilled water goes to blow cold air on people. So there’s a very small number of apartments in New York that have that kind of system with a chiller and a cooling tower are all sort of tied up in central air conditioning. It’s a very intense system because it’s basically running all the time so when you do come across it there is a lot of opportunity. - MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Chiller

A machine that cools water for use in cooling a building (Henry Book pg. 470)

Clean and Tune

This refers to optimization. We’re not talking about kind of major work and the two pieces of equipment are a boiler cleaning tune, and a furnace cleaning tune. (But in our specific usage it will really be a boiler as we are working in the downstate market). It’s [furnace or boiler] the piece of equipment that provides space heating for the apartment. The combustion process is optimized as dirty surfaces and heat exchangers that can are “cleaned and tuned” and a little bit more heat goes up the chimney instead of to the building. And that sort of thing is kind of, you know, slight marginal adjustments of that equipment to eke out like, you know, 1% or 2% savings. But the fuel type stays the fuel type. It’s an operational measure more than anything, not a capital upgrade.

In both AMEEP and MFEEP but has to be advanced and not seasonal (pg. 38 of AMEEP details what is involved in the advanced boiler clean and tune)

Common Area Lighting

The building common areas: hallways, corridors, lobbies, stairwells, exterior lighting, back of house spaces, mechanical rooms, laundry rooms, etc. It’s making a change to the existing lighting with more efficient lighting lighting that provides the same amount of light with less electricity, which tends to mean LED bulbs and sometimes occupancy sensors and other sorts of controls that turn the lights off when, when no one’s around or using the space. There is good payback since electricity is still pretty expensive. However, lighting gets replaced every 12 - 15 years anyway and LED lighting is coming anyway without a Rebate. - MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Cool Roof

Painting the roof with something reflective (white or silver). Doesn’t have huge energy savings. It does reduce the AC requirements on the top floor. Good for reducing urban heat island effect (so good for the neighborhood). Makes roofs more durable because they are not getting as hot and what kills roofs is temperature cycling. -MZ

I think in only AMEEP

Clean and Tune

In both AMEEP and MFEEP but has to be advanced and not seasonal (pg. 38 of AMEEP details what is involved in the advanced boiler clean and tune)

Common Area Lighting

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Decarbonization (of buildings)

Reduce the energy demand and carbon intensity of both existing and new construction. C2ES

Domestic Hot Water

System delivers hot water to fixtures used by people at the sink, shower, tub and any other appliance where water may contact humans. They typically work by delivering hot water through a centralized storage tank separate from water that may be used for steam or hydronic heating. (Henry Book)

Domestic hot water controls: You make hot water in the boiler room and sometime store it at temperatures between 150-170 degrees, but need to make sure that the water you send upstairs doesn’t scald people through the faucets and the showerheads (goal is 125(ish) degree water). There are slight energy savings, but important for resident comfort, health and not scalding so safety. It exists in the boiler room. - MZ
Unclear if this is in MFEEP, but it AMEEP. Something about temperature sensors in EMS is mentioned.

Economizer

More from the commercial world we’re not going to kind of come across these but they’re they’re ventilation systems that When it’s when it’s cool outside, they supply more cool air into the space to help with cooling because commercial buildings often have cooling needs indoors even when it’s relatively cool outside. Because they have a lot of printers and lights and occupants that generate a lot of heat.

Electrification

Refers to the process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) with technologies that use electricity as a source of energy. RRF

Elevator Modernization

Not a huge impact in a residential building. Could be done if were goinig to replace the elevators anyway and get some rebate, but not huge savings. And once you do one part, you have to do the whole thing has to be brought up to code. - MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Energy Conservation Measures (ECM)

Is a project or technology implemented to reduce energy consumption in a building or facility. Vitality

Energy Management System (EMS)

Is a smart tool used to monitor energy utilization within a building. An EMS can collect energy data from various appliances and systems within a solution, and (sometimes) identify avenues of optimization. (Henry Book)

What really happens: 10 to 20% of the apartments will get a wireless sensor. Those wireless sensors send their temperaturs back to a central controller in the boiler room. And then a system is used to collect the average and determine the estimated comfort level of the building i.e., all these 20 apartments have a temperature of 72, so the building is warm enough and I’m going to turn off the heat in the central boiler room. This is compared to smart thermostats that have controls in every apartment. Because its an average, it doesn’t address the problem in every apartment due to poort distribution (they may get ripped out after some time - why is ripping them out better?). Will then have to do the heavier lift putting the controls, but also fixing the steam disrtbution. This is a common measure, easy to implement, and relatively low cost and high impact for investment.

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV)/Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV)

A device that recovers heating or cooling energy and humidification or dehumidification from exhaust air and transfers it to incoming fresh ventilation air. Much easier for new construction. (Henry Book pg. 444-445)

Faucet Aerators

They are restrictors of water flow that can be installed on any faucet in the bathroom, kitchen, sink, etc. Usually restrict water flow to 1 gallon per minute as opposed to 1.5, which saves on hot and cold water (and the energy to heat up hot water). Cost anywhere from $1 - $15 for high quality. Good to install while already doing in-unit work. Can also get ones for shower heard. Don’t want to ruin peoples comfort. - MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

Furnace

(Related to the upstate marker) heats up air and circulates that air throughout the building or throughout a space to provide the space heating. [As compared to a Boiler] - MZ

Ghosting

Discoloration patterns on side of walls that are indicators of heat flow that can be seen without infrared cameras. Various mechanism cause ghosting:

Different levels of biological activity
Dust adhesion
Differences in levels of oxidation caused by differences in temperature, moisture level, and biological activity
Interactions between all mechanisms (Henry Book pg.22)

Gross Floor Area (GFA)

Is the sum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building, including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft (2.2 meters) or greater. USGBC

Heat Pump

In most branches of science, a mechanism that moves heat from something cold to something hot. The term refers to an air conditioner running “backwards” to hear a building during the winter. Can be broken into three categories depending on where they draw heat from:(Henry Book pg.510-512)

Air Source.
Water Source.
Ground Source

Clean Heat Program

Domestic Hot Water

Space Heating

HVAC

Don’t know if this should be a section but it was mainly expanded in other sections?

Insulation of heat and hot water

I am not following the video (at least right now)

Boiler Jacket

DHW Pipe Insulation

Heating Pipe Insulation

Tank Insulation

Insulation of Roof

Insulation of Walls

Local Law 84

Requires owners of large residential and commercial (if you own a building that is larger than 25,000 square feet (SF) or if you have two or more buildings in a single lot that are larger than 100,000 square feet) buildings in the five boroughs to submit annual energy and water consumption reports to the City. WegoWise

Local Law 87

Mandates that buildings over 50,000 gross square feet undergo periodic energy audit and retro-commissioning measures, as part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP). The intent of this law is to inform building owners of their energy consumption through energy audits, which are surveys and analyses of energy use, and retro-commissioning, the process of ensuring correct equipment installation and performance. NYC Gov

Local Law 88

Requires property owners to upgrade their lighting systems and install tenant sub-meters. NYC Gov

Local Laws 92 + 94

These laws require sustainable roofing systems in new constructions, and also when existing roofs are expanded or replaced. NY Engineers

Local Law 97

Places carbon caps on most buildings larger than 25,000 square feet—roughly 50,000 residential and commercial properties across NYC. These caps start in 2024 and will become more stringent over time (35% by 2024, 40% by 2025, 50% by 2030), eventually reducing emissions 80% by 2050. UGC Summary Sheet. NYC Gov

Low emissivity (Low-e), glass

Glass with a coating that reflects much of the infrared radiation reaching it but that is mostly transparent to visible light. It lets sunlight in while helping keep a building cool during the summer and warm during the winter (Henry Book pg. 46). See Windows pg. 69

Master Venting

To flush trapped air quickly and ensure that steam reaches all apartments evenly, install high-capacity air vents at the ends of steam mains and on the tops of riser lines. BE Exchange

To be combined with orfice plates, steam traps, and TRVs + OP.

Measure Diversity

Don’t have an official definition but from Daphany - traditionally they (willdan) gets a lot of EMS/pipe insulation projects, they would like to see more diversity in the types of projects/more comprehensive SOWs coming into the pipeline.

Motors

Pumps are anything that moves water around. Fans are anything that moves air around. Both require a motor to do that.

An EC, electric commutated, motor is for a furnace [most common upstate or similar systems]. A permanent split capacitor (PSC) motor (as opposed to an EC motor) is what you will see in buildings that have to circulate hot water through the building for heat and they need a pump that does that. And there there can be a more efficient (basically an alternative) that moves the same amount of water with less electricity. And then they these categories are a little generic to like pumps and motors.

In both AMEEP and MFEEP
The upgrade is from a PSC system to an EC system or adding VFD See VFD

Pumps are in a significant part of a steam system because your steam rises up and through the building and then condenses back down. You don’t need a pump to move the steam through the building (it’s just the steam pressure itself moves through), you need a pump to sort of pump, the condensate that comes out the other side of the radiator and in some cases back to the boiler. But that’s a relatively small pump and not a significant energy user.

Orifice Plates

Are a primary flow element, detecting the flow of a fluid passing through the plate by sensing the pressure drop across the plate. Only work in two-pipe steam buildings to end steam trap problems.

With orifice plates installed, radiator no longer heat up all the way. The thermal image shows that steam enters the radiator and starts filling it from the top down. Steam never reaches the trap, so the trap is no longer needed and broken traps can no longer have an impact on the system.
Return-side orifice plates are the ones with the bad reputation. Supply-side plates work on a completely different principle.
To be combined with master venting, steam traps, and TRVs + OP.

Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC)

Typical in New York City, a decentralized sleeve air conditioner, that uses a lot less electricity and an energy [than a central air conditioner] and is a type of self-contained heating and air conditioning system. It also has a heating coil, that is connected to a boiler and it’s either steam or hot water thatt runs through it. There’s not a ton of savings associated with just taking one PTAC out and replacing it with another and its a lot of work because it involves touching every tenant space in the building (if to replace all), and it’s not a ton of savings, because you know, there’s a fan that blows the light that uses electricity that maybe can be a little bit more efficient. Maybe the cooling system itself, if it’s an old 10 year old one, you know, there’s a little bit of efficiency improvement. -MZ

In both AMEEP and MFEEP

The Perfect Sequence

The optimum sequence for arranging the layers of assembly to maximize people’s comfort and health while making a building more durable and energy efficient. (Henry Book pg. 386)

R-Value

Is a measure or capacity of an insulating material to resist heat flow. The higher the r-value, the greater the insulating power.

R = Delta Temp between warmer and colder surface of the barrier / heat flux through the barrier. <- how do you measure that? Progressive Foam or pg. 570 Henry book

Refrigerant

A substance that used in refrigeration system or a heat pump. In most equipment, the refrigerant changes phase during the refrigeration cycle to increase the capacity and efficiency of the system. (Henry Book pg. 226)

Sealed Combustion

A combustion appliance that has one pipe to supply outdoor combustion air to the appliance and a second pipe to eject combustion exhaust outdoors, with no connection to indoor air (Henry Book pg. 430)

Smart Thermostats

This tool is applicable when there’s a certain kind of base heating system infrastructure that can accommodate a nest or something similar. For example, you can’t put a nest onto a steam radiator. But in the upstate market, where you have furnaces, which are in individual apartments, and have old dumb thermostats, you could install a nest, and every one of those where you have a existing hot water hydronic building that’s circulating heat/hot water throughout the whole building, and then you have individual valves in every apartment that connected to a dumb thermostat that control the temperature in that apartment, you could install a smart thermostat. Essentially, it depends on the on the system. It is a sensor and a thermostat that’s just dedicated to the actual space being served, as opposed to the energy management system. - MZ

Unclear if this is in MFEEP, but it AMEEP. Something about wi-fi thermostats and unitary controls?

Smart Thermostatic Radiator

This is a vendor specific related retrofit. A company called Retrofit labs makes an enclosure (like a box) that fits over an existing stand up radiator. It has a fan on it that is plugged into the wall and a thermostat and it turns the radiator into a controllable device. It competes with an orfice plate and TRV solution(whats desscribed in clanging pipes). - MZ

Seems to be in both AMEEP and MFEEP

Stack Effect

The mechanism that moves air throughout a building by convection (Henry Book pg. 80-82)

Steam Traps

To be combined with orfice plates, master venting, and TRVs + OP.

TRM

Was this a technical resource manual? Idts.

Thermostatic radiator valves (TRV)

Is a self-regulating valve fitted to hot water heating system radiator, to control the temperature of a room by changing the flow of hot water to the radiator. Wikipedia

To be combined with orfice plates, steam traps, and master venting.

Turnkey Contractor

They plan, design, and build a project or infrastructure (a completed project). Basically all encompassing, which we will not be as we will not build and finalize a design. Smart capital Mind

U-Value (or thermal resistance)

Is the reciprocal of r-value. It is the rate of transfer of heat through a structure divided by the difference in temperature accross that structure. The better insulated, the lower the u-value. NBS or pg. 571 Henry Book.

Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)

A generic category, but a variable frequency drive for bigger motors and is something you can sort of retrofit on to a larger existing motor, whether it’s serving a pump or a fan, and it kind of modulates that motor so you don’t need all of the power on full blast all the time. That’s probably not as relevant to the simpler multi multifamily buildings but probably the most relevant one would be that 75% of New York multifamily is steam heated so they don’t use pumps that pump water around the building, but nearly the other 25% uses hot water to circulate heat around the building. Those systems have pumps, those pump use electricity and there’s some you know whether or not to electrically commutated motor, more efficient motor or a VFD could be used to save a little electricity in the pump and that’s probably the primary place you’d kind of come you’d see this measure although there’s there’s other examples that are less common.

Perscriptive VFD applications include:

Exhaust fans
Make-up air fans
Return fans
Supply fans
Water loop heat pump circulating pump
Boiler feed water pump

Variable Refrigerant Flow

Not really a definition @Marc

Are the heat pumps of the bigger commercial grade heat pumps that have lots of those indoor units that you would see in a restaurant connected like 8, 10, 20, 80 connected to one kind of outdoor unit. The system itself costs probably $25 a square foot to put in, so if you were trying to get the most amount of points for the least amount of money you would not do a VRF system, but if you are going to do a whole building heat pump system, then that’s kind of a one system option. I think, the way now that I’m reading this, the way this list is, I think originally intended to be non heat pump measures. So I think they’re actually calculating 20 points impacts for just cooling efficiency improvement. And there would be additional, not points but rebate money available if you did a VRF system where no existed. Additional money can be realized for heat pumps.

But in the context of MFEEP/AMEEP it just means improving cooling efficiency improvement? Need to circle back to this.

Ventilation Overhaul

This is making a system the existing system that is just exhausting air out of the building work better or I would argue actually work. All buildings post 1960s, when the building code changed, have some form of exhaust ventilation that pulls from stale air from kitchens or bathrooms. You try to pull from a 10 story building, roughly the same amount of air from the first floor through a little vent as from the 10th floor, however it usually pulls a lot more from the top floor because the fans near the top floor at the on the roof, and you usually lose all suction by the time you get, you know, halfway down the stack the shaft little on all the way down because there’s lots of leaks. It’s a significant scope of work because you need to get into every apartment on that on that line (and you’re gonna do the whole building) so you actually have to get into every apartment to do the work as well as the roof work.

In both AMEEP and MFEEP I think

Window Film

Not relevant to residential buildings, but it is a Peel and Stick kind of piece of plastic that is like the film on the inside of your of your glass (what?). And that reflects it doesn’t reduce the restriction of visual light significantly but it reflects sunlight more so it reduces the cooling. It’s been done in more in office buildings that are more cooling dependent. It’s not a retrofit I’ve ever seen done in a residential building.

Window Replacement

Footnotes

Buildings Don’t Lie by Henry Gifford ↩