Hydronic Shell

Hydronic Shell Technologies, Inc.

Hydronic Shell

Hydronic Shell is a novel technology that enables deep energy retrofits and electrification of existing multifamily buildings.

New York, NY, USA

USA

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

At Hydronic Shell Technologies, our mission is to give existing buildings a new life. In the US alone, 60% of the multifamily buildings were built before 1980 and suffer from these issues. Most of these buildings suffer from outdated and deteriorating infrastructure with occupants suffering from poor indoor air quality and thermal comfort. Additionally, the maintenance of such buildings is an expensive undertaking and typically ends up having the effect of a band aid on a bullet hole. A full deep energy retrofit is the need of the hour to help reduce harmful emissions and high operating costs, while improving the health, comfort and well-being of the occupants. To add to the problem, most incumbent solutions tend to have a poor return on investment. They also typically require existing occupants to be displaced as well as expensive electrical infrastructure upgrades further deterring owners from fixing the root cause of their problem.

Hydronic Shell is a tenant-in-place solution that enables deep energy retrofits from the exterior of the building, thereby greatly reducing the cost and time to complete the retrofit while minimizing disruption to residents. By integrating a high-performance central HVAC system into a new overclad façade, Hydronic Shell can be installed non-invasively from the exterior of the building with minimal tenant disruption. It utilizes modular assemblies that are prefabricated in a factory to reduce onsite labor and installation time compared to conventional retrofit methods, thereby greatly reducing overall costs. It can reduce HVAC energy use intensity down to under 10 kBtu/ft2-yr, thereby reducing building HVAC emissions up to 90%, and it’s adaptable to a wide variety of building shapes and sizes from mild to very cold climates. It achieves the goal of efficient electrification while improving the health and well-being of building occupants through improved comfort, indoor air quality, and resilience, while also revitalizing the building’s appearance. A brief video describing our solution can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9ChMk01ns8 Technical paper : https://static1.squarespace.com/static/637c23984554992c400be05c/t/63d7064aadd91d569a44859e/1675036235207/FIMS_DGoldstein_Oct22.pdf

Hydronic shell’s solution is focused on serving low-income affordable housing buildings which have been deteriorating for decades and where the need is most urgent. Many of the low-income housing buildings throughout the US have old and outdated building systems with no mechanical means of ventilation, no cooling and a poor envelope. These buildings often depend on grants and funding for their maintenance and are often overlooked for holistic upgrades This leads to poor thermal comfort and indoor air quality which in turn affects occupant health and often leads to poor productivity as several studies have shown . By integrating a high-performance central HVAC system into a new overclad façade, Hydronic shell enables cooling, heating as well as ventilation to each apartment while improving the health and well-being of building occupants through improved comfort, indoor air quality, and resilience, all this while also revitalizing the building’s appearance. Another key feature is that the hydronic shell is installed non-invasively from the exterior of the building with minimal tenant disruption. This is especially important in low-income housing where tenants and cash strapped building agencies don't really have alternate means to house the occupants during the retrofit process.