The New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA) said that data
from a first-of-its-kind study that compiled energy related
information from more than 3,000 homes
in New York is now available for use in identifying
opportunities for energy efficiency improvements.
State officials said data will help municipalities,
builders, architects, HVAC and other energy service
contractors–distributors, manufacturers and
others–identify opportunities for energy efficiency
projects, further driving clean energy business
development in the state.
Utilities will also benefit from this baseline
information to customize programs and estimate
energy savings impacts going forward, according
to NYSERDA. The data is available at the website open.ny.gov
The Residential Statewide Baseline Study
was developed by NYSERDA to understand the
residential building stock and associated energy use,
and the penetration of energy-efficient equipment,
building characteristics and energy management
practices. The five-volume study also includes a
heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC)
market assessment to identify the baseline conditions
for residential non-electric heating and water heating
equipment and central air conditioning in the state.
Officials said the availability of the data greatly
increases the amount of information publicly
available about the residential building stock. The data
include more than 300 categories of energy-related
information for each of more than 3,000 new and
existing single-family and multifamily residential
buildings, such as property characteristics, heating
and cooling equipment, water heating equipment,
lighting, clothes washing and drying equipment,
and energy behaviors of respondents. The data on
each building includes zip codes, enabling users to
examine specific geographic regions of the state.
The study provides information to support the
state in advancing Reforming the Energy Vision
(REV), a state strategy to build a clean, resilient
and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers.
As part of REV, NYSERDA aims to make a range of
energy-related data sets available in its ongoing role
as credible information provider.
Prior to adding the residential energy data to
open.ny.gov, NYSERDA added data on 32,000 solar
projects.
Officials said key findings from the Residential
Statewide Baseline Study include:
• Almost one-quarter of single-family homes are 75 years old or older, representing
opportunities for
weatherization (air sealing and insulation) to reduce
energy waste. Further, about 42 percent of all homes
have no foundation insulation and almost 7 percent
have no wall insulation.
• About 20 percent of natural gas heating systems
and 29 percent of fuel oil heating systems are more
than 20 years old, representing opportunities for
more efficient heating systems that reduce energy use.
• More than 80 percent of the central air
conditioning systems statewide were not high
efficiency.
NYSERDA said there is opportunity for service
providers to promote annual tune-ups as a way to
provide additional energy savings to their customer
base. About 58 percent of homes with furnaces and
boilers indicated their heating equipment had been
serviced in 2013 and 2014. Only about 40 percent of
homes with central air conditioners (AC) indicated
that their AC equipment had been serviced in 2013
or 2014.
About one-quarter of the natural gas central
heating systems in multifamily buildings are more
than 20 years old and could be replaced with newer
more efficient systems.
“Public accessibility to the Residential Statewide
Baseline Study data will be valuable for contractors,
builders, or anyone working in the construction
trades to better understand the current residential
landscape and help identify potential energy
efficiency opportunities,” said John B. Rhodes,
NYSERDA president and CEO. “By making available
these residential energy data on open.ny.gov, we are
providing an information resource that has never
been available before.”
The study was a collaboration among NYSERDA,
the state Department of Public Service, Central
Hudson Gas and Electric Corp., Consolidated Edison,
National Grid, New York State Electric & Gas, Orange
& Rockland Utilities, Rochester Gas and Electric,
and PSEG Long Island, among other stakeholders.
It was conducted using phone and Internet surveys
between 2011 and 2014.
OpenNY was launched in 2013, advancing a datadriven
strategy providing public access to publishable
state data for collaboration and analysis. The program
puts tools for transparency, accountability, citizen
engagement and innovation directly into the hands
of New Yorkers and people all around the world by
providing user friendly, centralized access to machine
readable data to explore, search, download, analyze
and share.