Insights Into Energy Use and Equipment in New York’s Multifamily Building Stock
In collaboration with the NYS Department of Public Service, NYSERDA conducted the Statewide Multifamily Building Study to provide baseline data on the building stock and equipment for an estimated 2.6 million multifamily dwellings across New York State. Data was collected between June 2022 and January 2023 from more than 2,400 multifamily properties through online phone surveys and site visits.
The study also identifies motivations and barriers to energy efficiency and electrification upgrades in multifamily buildings, which will be used to inform program planning and setting baselines for energy savings calculations. This information is critical to advancing building decarbonization and creating cleaner and healthier communities across New York State.
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Key findings from the Statewide Multifamily Building Study include:
- Buildings built after 2006 have a higher average total building energy use intensity (EUI) than older buildings
- Natural gas is by far the most common primary heating fuel in the state
- Close to nine in ten buildings built since 1979 use electric water heaters
- Water heater ages are highly variable; A similar proportion of dwelling units has a water heater 20 years or older as has a water heater less than two years old or five to nine years old
- Nine in ten buildings use air-conditioning (ACs)
- Smart thermostats remain the least common type of temperature control
Market Assessment
The Multifamily Market Assessment serves as a qualitative companion study to the Statewide Multifamily Building Study. Its objectives include:
- Qualitatively understand the multifamily building retrofit market and practices for HVAC, DHW, and shell
- Determine market actors’ motivations for and barriers to the adoption of energy-efficient HVAC, DHW, and shell in the multifamily market
- Identify opportunities for improving and expanding the reach of programs involved with retrofitting multifamily buildings
- Qualitatively understand perceptions of electrification and net-zero energy (NZE) in the multifamily building retrofit market