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NYSERDA is working to energize the New York State marketplace for heat recovery solutions. Buildings, which represent around one-third of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions, waste heat (i.e., thermal energy) through a variety of processes, including ventilation, cooling, and wastewater systems. By capturing and repurposing that rejected energy, heat recovery solutions help building owners reduce operating costs and lower carbon emissions.
To increase awareness and adoption of heat recovery solutions, the Heat Recovery Program aims to advance solutions that can significantly improve thermal efficiency and support planning activities to accelerate a pipeline of successful heat recovery retrofits.
Heat Recovery recycles wasted thermal energy, reducing a building’s energy consumption and carbon footprint. Recovering wasted heat – energy that building owners have already paid for – and repurposing it directly at point of use or storing it for later represents a promising approach to large building decarbonization.
Recent projects, including the demonstration projects advanced through NYSERDA’s Empire Building Challenge (EBC), have shown that heat recovery is a no-regrets decarbonization strategy for many of New York’s existing building stock. All ten projects awarded by EBC have featured heat recovery in some form as part of a phased decarbonization retrofit [PDF].
By building on the successful demonstrations of this technology, this program aims to grow the pool of completed heat recovery projects from 10 to 100.
Learn about Hudson 345—a carefully phased building retrofit that deploys thermal networking to drastically reduce energy demand and eliminate carbon emissions. This creative visionary approach shares and transports heat within and between the building's floors.
Discover how 55 Water Street is setting a new standard for heat recovery, using thermal storage, in New York. This groundbreaking project showcases how a thermal battery system captures, stores, and reuse heat energy to meet both heating and cooling needs of this building – all while complying with Local Law 97.
We’re looking to work with consulting engineers, heat recovery solution providers, building owners and operators, and other key stakeholders to increase adoption of heat recovery solutions amongst a larger share of NYS buildings. Below are some tools we have developed to help you identify opportunities and plan projects that take advantage of waste heat at your building.
Explore NYSERDA’s Energy Recovery Analysis Tools:
: Identify where waste energy can be captured (sources) and where it can be reused (sinks) during retrofit planning.: Compare building-specific data for sources and sinks to estimate potential recovery. Built-in assumptions and data help you move quickly from concept to feasibility.Explore the list of qualified heat recovery solution manufacturers and products to support low-carbon building retrofits.
held on March 25, 2026 held on August 27, 2025. held on April 24, 2025.: A management primer from the Uptime Institute on the opportunity to recover waste heat from data centers. : Learn about holistic energy management solutions, including heat recovery, which is explored further in an article titled “Reject Rejected Energy” on page 44 of the report.
NYSERDA has several programs that provide funding and technical assistance to support energy efficiency upgrades and decarbonization of commercial, industrial, institutional, and multifamily buildings.
Contact the team directly at [email protected].
Stay up to date on the Heat Recovery Program, related industry best practices, and more.
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