ESRT 2.0 and the Empire State Building

Project overview

The Empire State Realty Trust, one of the most successful Real Estate companies in New York City, with the iconic Empire State Building under its ownership, embarked on a new digital transformation venture that redefines the functions of the buildings in their portfolio and sets new standards in smart building management and sustainability.

ESRT embarked on a journey toward decarbonization, knowing that to achieve this, they needed a versatile platform that could bring everyone together. They chose KODE Labs because KODE OS offered just that—a smart, open platform for diverse needs, making their sustainability goals more achievable.

With over 30 different systems in 9 buildings, including the Empire State Building, integrated into a centralized platform, numerous use cases where unlocked with a special focus on:

• Centralize all BMS equipment into one user platform
• Energy tracking, monitoring and optimizing
• Standardization of event and equipment malfunction alarms
• ASHRAE g36 compliance 
• Local Law 97 compliance tracking in real time

KODE OS, a cloud based building operating system designed and developed by KODE is serving as a primary data orchestration and operations software, centralizing all portfolio operations into a single pane of glass.

Project scope

KODE Labs’ cloud based platform KODE OS was selected to serve as a centralized platform, normalizing and orchestrating data.

To enable all the desired use cases and ensure successful implementation, a 5 step process was followed:

1. Assessment of the buildings existing systems and infrastructure; 
2. Definition of goals and objectives aligned with the desired use cases; 
3. Centralization of all building documentation in one platform;
4. Digital commissioning of all systems and devices integrated to ensure optimal operations;
5. Identification and proposals of appropriate technology upgrades to be implemented based on functional testing results, where needed;

A few key technologies that ensured the successful deployment of this project are: 

• KODE OS, a smart building management platform that integrates various building systems and devices into a single pane of glass, normalizing and orchestrating data. 
• myMSI, a project management platform centralizing all building documents, equipment warranties, system integration processes & timelines
• A converged building network enabling a centralized management of all network-based devices and scalability going forward.

A few notable use cases enabled through KODE OS:

• Full suite of KODE OS functionalities including performance insights & graphics; 
• Standardization of alarms from various systems and devices ensuring compliance to ASHRAE g36;
• Centralizing ESG data and transforming it into actionable portfolio scale insights;
• Portfolio wide performance data comparison and analytics;
• Energy Star integration for carbon accounting and benchmarking;
• Real time site level energy usage tracking – supporting demand response and increase accuracy in carbon accounting; 
• Utilivisor to centralize tenant energy usage and billing, providing more granular insights in building energy usage.
• Tracking of hourly water consumption and centralizing leak detection alerting across portfolio.
• Local Law 97 tacking.

Why it’s important

The deployment of technologies like KODE OS and myMSI, as well as the converged building network exemplifies Empire State Realty Trust’s commitment to embracing innovation as a catalyst for change. The portfolio’s digital evolution set’s an example of a more efficient future for buildings, where smart management and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. These technologies are being used as a way to actively monitor G36 compliance as upgrades of the building’s controls are being implemented, equipping the ESRT team with real-time insights as their buildings are getting greener.

Future Outlook

Future plans for ESRT, and Empire State Building in particular, contain further tuning and optimization of the HVAC system and KODE modules such as Optimized Start-Stop, as well as integration of future suite to upgrade lighting, work orders and other systems so that the engineering teams use KODE OS as a daily operating tool.