Clean Heat: A Technical Response to a Policy Innovation

Diana Hernández
Columbia University

Industrial Revolution

Every home makes compromises among different and often competing goals: comfort, convenience, durability, energy consumption, maintenance, construction costs, appearance, strength, community acceptance, and resale value. Often consumers and developers making the tradeoffs among these goals do so with incomplete information, increasing the risks and slowing the adoption of innovative products and processes. This slow diffusion negatively affects productivity, quality, performance, and value. This department of Cityscape presents, in graphic form, a few promising technological improvements to the U.S. housing stock. If you have an idea for a future department feature, please send your diagram or photograph, along with a few well-chosen words, to elizabeth.a.cocke@hud.gov.

NYC Clean Heat policy was enacted to improve air quality in New York City, with emphasis on reducing exposure to pollutants—black carbon, particulate matter, and sulfur—that are linked to environmental degradation and various health risks. This policy measure called for phasing out residual oil and adopting cleaner-burning fuel sources by converting boilers in commercial and residential properties throughout the city. This article describes the process of clean heat technology adoption within the innovative NYC Clean Heat policy context, demonstrating thorough compliance on the part of building owners and managers and discussing implications for scalability in other urban settings.