Steven Winter Associates holds panel discussion

Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) held a panel discussion, entitled NYC Building Owners and Managers Session: Improving Performance in Existing Buildings. Attendees learned about the advantages of retro-commissioning (RCx) at the event that took place on March 13 at the GE Monogram Design Center in the Architects & Designers Building. Founder and president of SWA, Steven Winter, moderated the discussion and presented alongside Dan Egan, operations analyst at Vornado Realty Trust, Jonathan Flaherty, director of sustainability at Tishman Speyer, and Eric Marshall, project manager at Rose Associates, Inc. The three real estate professionals spoke of their experiences, successes and lessons learned from the RCx process, and discussed the manners in which retro-commissioning has been addressed in their respective properties. Retro-commissioning involves the testing and tune-up of existing building systems and allows property owners to confirm whether systems are operating at maximum efficiency. The systematic process identifies maintenance, calibration and operations errors. Once corrected, these findings provide significant energy savings and improve equipment reliability. Mistakes originating from the building's construction or subsequent renovations can be pinpointed during the process, as well. Steven Winter has been at the forefront of the U.S. sustainable/green building movement since its beginning. As chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council from 1999 to 2003, Winter led the organization as its membership and influence skyrocketed with the launching of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Greenbuild. His personal expertise revolves around program management, green systems and products, energy efficient housing, and the U.S. housing industry.