Map shows energy consumption in each building in New York

Researchers at the School of Engineering at Columbia University in the United States, created a detailed map on the energy consumption in New York City. Available on the Internet, it shows the total consumption for each building in all five areas of the city: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The map also shows the expenditures by type of energy: electricity, hot water, heating and air conditioning.
The areas that spend more energy are commercial, which represent half of total consumption and 30% of buildings in the city. Only the center of Manhattan uses more energy than all over Kenya, Africa, the researcher said Vijay Modi, co-author of the study in which the map was based on an interview for "The Wall Street Journal."
The Manhattan office areas appear dark red on the map, which indicates a high energy consumption. Since residential areas such as Harlem, are yellow or orange colors representing lower energy use.
In residences, the main expense is heating. "While the discussion [on reduction of energy consumption] are generally focused on electrical use, the New York residential buildings, whether houses or apartments, spend a lot more energy into electricity for heating. Almost all of this heat is obtained from oil or natural gas, "he said Modi in advertising material.
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The researchers' expectation is that the map will help planners, engineers and politicians to understand the dynamics of energy use in town planning solutions and enable more efficient and emit less greenhouse gases. They also hope that people seek to know what is in your area consumption and reduce energy use.
"We want to start a debate with the people of New York on energy efficiency and conservation, putting the power consumption in the context of all New Yorkers," said Bianca Howard, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and author of map in promotional material.
According to Modi, the map can also encourage residents to create alternative collective energy supply, more efficient and less polluting. Thus, for example, neighboring buildings, blocks or neighborhoods could find integrated solutions.
To create the map, the researchers used data on the average energy consumption according to zip code. Then they estimated the costs for construction.


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