Low-Cost Heat Sensors Generate Savings for Forest Hills Co-op
A low-cost shift from basic heating controls to wireless indoor heat sensors is generating more than $40,000 a year in energy savings for shareholders at Seminole Owners Corporation, a 349-unit co-op in Forest Hills. Not only has the move reduced winter heating bills, it’s also cutting emissions and making the apartments more comfortable.
The co-op complex is managed by FirstService Residential, and it was property manager Amanda Mercado who realized the building was overheating in winter. Residents were used to having radiators on full blast but were cracking open windows or even running their in-window air conditioning units on warm winter days. “I just saw the dollars being thrown out of the window and I knew we had to do something about it,” Mercado says.
The solution was to replace heating controls based only on outdoor temperatures with dozens of indoor heat sensors developed by technology and service provider, Runwise. The vertically integrated controls were installed in 100 apartments, allowing the one-pipe heating system to operate based on actual indoor temperatures. “The system makes predictions about what the optimal indoor temperature should be every 15 minutes, and then runs the heating system precisely to deliver that temperature,” says Lee Hoffman, Runwise’s co-founder and president.
The smart controls will turn the heating off because apartments are warm. Controls based on outdoor temperatures don’t have that flexibility. With the gas-fired boiler getting more accurate data, it runs steam heating cycles more efficiently. The savings this past winter— more than $42,000 — represented a 23.6% reduction in energy usage and fossil fuel consumption.
The integrated heat sensor system at Seminole Owners Corp. includes a dedicated internet line and Runwise controllers in the boiler room.
The co-op maintains service with Runwise for monitoring and control of the system, remote access to the software, training, ongoing support and a secure, dedicated internet line for the services. This ensures the building gets results from the equipment. “A representative is dedicated to each account to make sure the building is hitting its results and if not, to go in and figure out why,” Hoffman says. Along with the ability to detect problems within the system, the software also monitors the building’s water, identifying if there’s a leak and ensuring the hot water is at the correct temperature.
The installation took only a day, without the need for an assessment. Based on energy data from 2022, the co-op was facing annual Local Law 97 penalties of $72,400 in 2030, but according to projections from Runwise, the new system will help shave off at least $60,000 in fines for each year.
(Originally ran in Habitat Magazine. Lightly edited to fit LinkedIn's char limits)
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