Brooklyn, NY MEP and fire protection engineering firm EP Engineering completed 669 St. Marks, a five-story, 16,000 s/f Passive House multifamily condominium property. The building recently won the NYSERDA Building of Excellence Award.

Working alongside Cycle Architecture and developer Masmark, EP Engineering constructed 669 St. Marks with an airtight envelope, high-efficiency variable refrigerant heating and cooling, all-electric heat pump water heaters and high-efficiency energy recovery system.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarded this property with a Building of Excellence Award, as it promotes the energy-efficient utilization of renewable resources, focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and provides residents with an affordable energy system. NYSERDA awarded $238,920 for the completion of the building.

The Building of Excellence Awards recognize the design, construction and operation of low or zero carbon-emitting projects.

“This Passive House building will provide consistency in temperature and better indoor air quality throughout the apartments through sustainable principles,” said Chris Burgess, partner, EP Engineering. “We are grateful to NYSERDA for recognizing this project’s innovation and we are proud to help deliver this for our client.”

Among the challenges that EP Engineering in navigating the project included coordinating Passive House requirements with new MEP systems to ensure the energy model meets the rigorous requirements for building certification; coordinating outside and exhaust air from in-unit energy recovery units ducted to each and every room and bedroom for continuous indoor air ventilation of each zone; and utilizing electrical as the sole energy source for the building.

EP Engineering was able to overcome these challenges by providing consistent temperature throughout an apartment and better indoor air quality, incorporating a Heat Pump Water Heater to eliminate the need for a gas-fired solution for domestic hot water, resulting in all-electric building.