Case Study
Stories about New Yorkers leading the clean energy transition in their own homes.
Tips and Tricks
Tips from Tom Sahagian
An energy aficionado offers advice on how to make the switch to more renewable technology
Efficiency
Sealing in the benefits of energy efficiency
Project designers explain why air sealing is a crucial component of any energy efficiency project
Cool Tech
Controlling for comfort — and for cost
New air-source heat pumps offer residents an increased level of control, but also shift who’s paying for the heat
Explainer
What is Local Law 97?
Skylight’s all-in-one explainer of New York City’s landmark building decarbonization law — and what it means for the city’s residential buildings.
Ask a Cooperator
“Read the F*cking Manual!”
A Q&A with Chris McGinnis, a former IBM worker and longtime co-op resident who made it his mission to learn how buildings work so he could make his own more efficient
reports on the clean energy challenge happening right now in New York, illustrating how New Yorkers are tackling decarbonization at home: In their apartments, co-ops, and houses.
Getting Started
Efficiency
Hybrid heating, modern solutions
Ecosystem engineers utilize both heat pumps and a gas boiler to heat Manhattan co-op
Ask a Cooperator
“Everyone’s sick of hearing about heat pumps from me!”
A Q&A with Kathryn DeFehr, Brooklyn architect and co-op resident, on how to sway a co-op board
Financing
Making it make cents
A Q&A with Jay Merves on green financing options for different types of homeowners
Going Big
Explainer
Installing heat pumps in a fully-occupied co-op
How this Manhattan building completed a major energy upgrade without disrupting residents’ lives
Clean Energy
Simple installations and a financial ‘no-brainer’
Solar panels on the roof of Forest Hills rental carve a pathway toward clean energy via net metering
Profile
How Stefan Unger got “married to the project”
This co-op member became an expert in rainscreen cladding by leading his building’s renovation project
Clean Energy
How this Brooklyn condo ensures its solar panels work at max efficiency
Once solar panels are installed, engineers utilize energy “clipping” to ensure peak performance, even on the cloudiest days
Join the Skylight community
We’ll be in your inbox once monthly with updates on New York City’s transition to clean energy.
Edition 4 January 2025
Case Study
What are we going to do with this roof?
The story of how one Brooklyn condo board bonded together over solar energy — after much deliberation
Clean Energy
How this Brooklyn condo ensures its solar panels work at max efficiency
Once solar panels are installed, engineers utilize energy “clipping” to ensure peak performance, even on the cloudiest days
Financing
Making it make cents
A Q&A with Jay Merves on green financing options for different types of homeowners
