New York State Funds Smart Buildings, Energy Efficient HVAC Projects

The State of New York has $18 million available under the Next Generation Buildings Innovation Challenges for projects that offer advanced building technologies for clean heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, building envelopes, and controls, according to Governor Kathy Hochul (pictured, top of page).

This round of funding -- known as round seven -- includes intelligent building control technologies that manage energy assets and electric loads. Key opportunities for technology, business, engineering and construction partners include:

1. Building Envelope Systems and Components – Solutions for single-family and multifamily buildings that will substantially reduce heating and cooling costs, increase comfort, and modernize façades by introducing new materials and construction techniques.   
2. Ground Source Heat Pump Cost Compression – Solutions for residential and commercial buildings that reduce the system installation cost by 20 percent or greater through new heat pump equipment, ground loop technologies, and hybrid systems.
3. Intelligent Buildings – Solutions for residential and commercial buildings that enable electrification without electric service upgrades, connect legacy and siloed energy systems, and maintain residents’ desired comfort while minimizing the building’s peak electricity demand, emissions, and impact on the grid. 

Applications will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 27, 2023. NYSERDA will host two webinars for interested companies:

• August 15, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET: Informational Webinar
• August 23, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET: Proposal Submission Workshop

In a prepared statement about the program, Governor Hochul said: “With buildings representing one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emission in the State, it is imperative that we address this sector to achieve our climate goals and reduce our carbon footprint. The NextGen Buildings Innovation Challenges is one of many tools that we are employing to identify and foster real solutions to decarbonize and electrify our economy as we continue to fight climate change.”

Smart Building Market Growth Forecast

Demand for such solutions appears steady to strong, depending on which market forecast you potentially believe. For instance:

• The global building automation and control system market will reach $168.8 billion by 2031, up from $87.3 billion in 2022, Transparency Market Research forecast. That's a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9%, the firm said.
• Spending on building management systems is expected to reach $19.25 billion in 2023, up from $6.65 billion in 2016. That's a 16.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period, according to MarketsAndMarkets. 

The U.S. government also is assisting the market. For instance, the federal government plans to spend $250 million to help federal agencies implement net-zero building projects.

Smart Buildings, Technology Startups, HVAC Systems and Decarbonization Strategies

Amid that backdrop, numerous startups and consulting companies now focus on smart buildings and associated energy management systems. For instance:

• May 2023: BrainBox AI raised $20 million, led by CEO Sam Ramadori, to further develop autonomous building technology -- which improves the performance of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems. Around the same time, BrainBox AI acquired a multi-site retail (MSR) energy management system integrator.
• March 2023: Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund invested in BlocPower, which develops a SaaS analytics software platform for the greening of America's buildings, and the decarbonization of low income communities.
• March 2023: CarbonCents Inc., a Clemson University sustainability startup, has received approval from the SC Launch Inc. board for a $250,000 convertible note.
• February 2023: Power management company Eaton and IES partnered to assist customers with sustainable building strategies. The effort involves digital twin technology -- which allow customers to see and analyze a 3D digital representation of their buildings and supporting infrastructure.