Q&A with Varun Kohli, Director of Sustainability, Corgan.
Next month, the world's most dynamic climate platform returns to New York City. It comes at an apt time, during last month’s heat waves, extreme temperatures strained the city’s power system, leading to more than 80,000 power outages across the city in just two days. As temperatures rise, so too does energy demand in buildings as air conditioning is turned up.
At Climate Week NYC, from 20-27 September, we’re bringing together high-level leaders from business, government, and civil society to tackle energy demand challenges, the future of grids and the carbon pollution problem head on. If you’re working in the building sector, you need to be in the room.
Because a key focus for this year’s event is buildings, and the enormous impact energy efficiency can have in our homes and offices. Ahead of Climate Week NYC, we asked Varun Kohli, Director of Sustainability at Corgan, to explain the importance of smart energy use as we enter a new era of global heating. In a time of wildfires, heatwaves, and heavy air pollution, getting emissions down couldn’t be more urgent, and energy efficiency is one of the fastest ways to do that. A leading architecture and design firm founded over 80 years ago in the US, Corgan is a member of Climate Group’s Smart Energy Coalition and is hosting events at this year’s Climate Week NYC. Interested in joining? Start planning your week with the events calendar on our website.
As temperatures rise, people want to cool their homes and energy demand grows. It’s a big issue in New York City at the moment, how are smart technologies such as advanced cooling systems and intelligent building management tools helping?
"One of the key challenges we’re now facing with rising temperatures is high energy demand driven by cooling during the hottest times of the day. In New York we are starting to see the use of smart building management systems that work in sync with the local utility company and its energy use reduction programs. These intelligent energy management systems that run a building’s lighting and cooling, for example, work hand in hand with the grid during daily peaks, and are essential to reducing energy use during the hottest parts of the day, when energy use usually soars."
What most needs to change in how we approach buildings to make us ready for a warmer future?
"There are two areas I believe we need to focus on to prepare for a warmer future. We must invest more in our existing building stock; improving energy efficiency to manage energy use, and driving these buildings towards carbon neutrality. While we are seeing public programs and some funding, it is not yet at the scale that’s needed. Secondly, we need to encourage a change in human behaviour in buildings. Learning to be efficient in our spaces, in the way we use energy, and being flexible in our temperature needs will all go a long way in driving down energy demand during heat waves."
What role can energy efficiency play in helping buildings and cities meet rising energy demand?
"An efficiently designed and operated building will cut your energy use, your costs, and ultimately your emissions. A high-performance building has minimal energy loss and will run efficiently on less – this is especially important during ‘peak grid hours’ when demand for energy from consumers is high and therefore the grid is facing the most stress and energy prices are high."
And how does this drive up resilience?
"Reducing a building’s energy needs, through efficiency in both design and operations, makes our neighborhoods and cities more resilient to both energy demand spikes which can cause power cuts, and dangerous heat levels. Energy demand is met while people are kept cool. Businesses can boost their energy efficiency and therefore their resilience, for example, by adding smart controls and automation to their lighting and cooling systems, and by encouraging behaviorial shifts in their organizations to ensure less energy is needed."
You can check out all the events on buildings and infrastructure at this year’s Climate Week NYC via the event calendar on our website.