The New York City landmark recently achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest level of recognition under the U.S. Green Building Council's latest standard.
"The Empire State Building is one of the most advanced smart buildings there is," Director of Energy and Sustainability Dana Robbins Schneider said. "Since we started, we have reduced the energy we use by 49%."
From the triple-pane windows to the insulation they added inside the limestone exterior to the 73 elevators that "reclaim energy" every time they come down, it is the model other buildings copy.
On the buildings 6,500 windows they reused 96% of the material and put in a third middle pane of glass.
"And then injected krypton and Argon atoms into the air gap. It sounds fancy, very Superman, but K and A are very heavy and prevent convection heat transfer," Robbins Schneider said.
The upgrade saves about $4.5 million per year in energy costs.
The insulation they added behind every radiator, "under" every window? Something we can buy!
"We added rigid insulation, you could buy it at Home Depot if you wanted to," Robbins Schneider said. "It's literally rigid insulation with a reflective barrier."
Energy reclaimed from the elevators powers the electric cool water air conditioners in the lower levels, the colorful LED lights at the top of the Empire State Building, and the warm lights in the lobby.
"As the elevators brake, they recover that potential energy and put it back into the grid of the building itself," Robbins Schneider said.
Not only is the building setting a new standard, it's also leading by example.
"We publish all work we share, technologies, and we share results," Robbins Schneider said.
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