The state of New York has released a free guide to help owners of large buildings modernize and decarbonize their properties. The Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings was developed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), RMI, Building Energy Exchange, and Urban Land Institute. It provides case studies, technical resources, and best practices to create asset value, reduce emissions, and increase resiliency.

A central part of the playbook is electrifying buildings, and there implementing connected systems has a big role. The playbook provides resources in the form of webinars, reports, best practices, and other related playbooks to help building owners transition to electrified and connected systems such as heat pumps, ventilation controls, heating and cooling monitoring, and waste heat recovery.

The Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings has three parts. The first provides resources and guidance for assessing the status of existing energy systems — for example, to help identify systems nearing end of life or potential resiliency upgrades.

The second part of the playbook is a collection of technical resources mentioned above. The third section offers resources for building owners to create a business case for upgrades. This includes risk assessment, cost estimates, and potential value created.

The Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings is tied to New York’s Empire Building Challenge, which has made $50 million USD available to help meet the state’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050.