Empire State Plaza

The New York State Office of General Services wished to reduce energy usage and operating costs at the Empire State Plaza. Under the New York Power Authority’s Energy Services Program, Wendel analyzed lighting improvements, dimmer replacement, and motor upgrades for four-million square feet of the complex. A detailed lifecycle cost analysis allowed the client to see the complete financial impact of the project, not just construction costs.

The energy savings analysis detailed complete construction documents including plans and specifications, covering approximately 9,000 lighting fixtures, and 1,500 motors. Our team also provided construction administration services for the project and worked with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to secure financial incentives under the Commercial/Industrial Performance Program.

The base equipment currently serving the Empire Plaza are five 4500-ton Carrier model 17P steam turbine driven chillers. These chillers were installed in 1968 and utilize R-22 refrigerant, which is currently being phased out of use.

This project will be completed in two phases:

Phase I: During Phase I, one 6,000 ton electric centrifugal chiller in place of steam chiller #4, which is 4,500 tons. The current 6,000-ton electrical chiller scope was selected per the Electrical Chiller Evaluation Study that was conducted. Chiller #4 was selected for the replacement given its configuration with the free-cooling interchanger and the associated load shedding operation. This measure reduces the natural gas used by this facility by 250,197 MMBtu annually, and will save the facility over $1M dollars annually.

Phase II: New electrical chillers will replace the existing steam chillers for the rest of the plant. This phase is currently in planning/design.