A Very Bright Award Season

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It has been a fruitful award season for Bright Power and our dedicated partners. We are always proud to contribute to the success of our partners’ innovative projects, especially when they are recognized by our peers. Help us raise a glass and congratulate the visionaries at Hudson Companies and Hebrew SeniorLife who made these award-winning projects possible.

Gateway Elton – Association of Energy Engineers’ (AEE)

2014 Renewable Energy Project of the Year

Featured: Joanne Oplustil of CAMBA, Aaron Koffman of Hudson Companies and Andrew McNamara of Bright Power.

Gateway Elton Street, Hudson Companies’ 3-phase, 8-building, multifamily housing development located in Brooklyn, has been recognized as AEE’s 2014 Renewable Energy Project of the year. The site’s solar electric system will, upon completion of all three phases, contain 1 megawatt of generating capacity, making it the largest residential solar photovoltaic installation in New York State.

The vision of Aaron Koffman from Hudson Companies was to maximize the power capacity and annual energy production of a rooftop solar system for this large-scale affordable housing complex. Pulling off an installation of that magnitude in an urban setting was no easy feat, but the Bright Power team was happy to accept the challenge. To achieve the desired scale of the system, we attached a series of monolithic tilted steel dunnage structures to the building rooftops, spanning the four buildings included in Phase 1 of the project.

To ensure that the solar panels are always working properly, we included an online monitoring system, allowing us to dynamically measure production. Using this tool, we’ve found that the system is offsetting 42% of the total electricity usage in the residential common area and retail spaces, putting it on track to pay for itself in just four years. Additionally, the system is exceeding its performance expectations with virtually no maintenance requirements. We look forward to continuing to work and innovate with this high-performing team for the next phases of this project and beyond.

Jack Satter House – Winner of Two EBies from the Urban Green Council for Achievements in Energy and Water Saving Projects

Featured: Andrew McNamara of Bright Power, Stephen Post of Hebrew SeniorLife, Kenneth Wille of KOW Building Consultants, and Greg Sherman also of Bright Power.

Double congratulations are in order for the Jack Satter House and its Executive Director, Stephen Post. The Bright Power team stood by proudly as Stephen accepted two awards at The Urban Green Council’s EBies- the Grammy’s of energy efficiency- at the Hard Rock Cafe on June 9th in NYC. Funded by HUD’s Multifamily Green Retrofit Program, Jack Satter House, in Revere Beach, MA, won in two categories, “Take Me to the River: Winning Water Savings”, and “Power to the People: Exceptional Energy Savings”. Bright Power, in partnership with Hebrew SeniorLife, West Mechanical Contractors and KOW Building Consultants, had the honor of having our contribution recognized on two EBie-winning projects. The energy and water retrofit at Jack Satter House was a success thanks to the collaborative efforts of all those involved, including the low-income elderly individuals and families who call Jack Satter House home. In just twelve months, the site achieved a 21% reduction in source energy and a remarkable 48% reduction in water use through conservation measures large and small. A combination of high-efficiency technology upgrades and improved system controls as well as residents’ cooperation and enthusiasm for efficiency took the savings realized from good to award-winning. By keeping the residents, management, and maintenance staff engaged in the process from the initial development phase to final system commissioning, the occupants at Jack Satter House will have the knowledge and the know-how to maintain the energy and water savings for years to come.

Want to see more photos from the event? Click here!