Why Heat Pumps, Not Cars, Will Cut Urban Emissions Fastest

Feb 4, 2026

Drew Maggio, Technical Director at Highmark Building Efficiency who specializes in building electrification and heat pump solutions. He explains why aging urban buildings are the biggest emissions lever. Conversations cover oversized heat pumps, treating heat as a resource, wastewater and subway heat recovery, Local Law 97’s market impact, and practical retrofit roadmaps for dense cities.

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ANECDOTE

Subway Project Sparked His Career

Drew recalls a capstone project studying heat pumps in subway tunnels that launched his career in building electrification. That early project partnered with the MTA and shaped his focus on moving energy around New York City.

INSIGHT

Size Heat Pumps For Typical, Not Worst, Days

Size heat pump systems for typical temperatures, not rare extremes, to avoid oversizing and high costs. Using resistive backup for very cold hours can cut heat pump count and roof space needs significantly.

ADVICE

Plan For Hydronic Retrofit Complexity

When retrofitting steam systems, plan for hydronic distribution changes: heat pumps need supply and return piping, not single steam risers. Avoid surprises by accounting for added piping, terminal units, and tenant disruption early.

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Heating cities by opening windows is not a joke. It’s how many buildings still control temperature in winter, and it’s a climate disaster hiding in plain sight.

In this episode, I’m joined by Drew Maggio, Technical Director at Highmark Building Efficiency, to unpack why buildings are one of the biggest, most underestimated levers in the climate transition, especially in dense cities like New York.

Buildings account for roughly 70% of New York City’s emissions, yet much of the stock was designed for an era of cheap fossil fuels, crude controls, and worst-case thinking. Drew works at the sharp end of fixing that. We talk about what actually breaks when you try to electrify old buildings, and why bad assumptions, not bad technology, are slowing progress.

You’ll hear why oversizing heat pumps for rare freezing days drives up costs and kills projects. We dig into how treating heat as a resource, not waste, unlocks massive gains, from wastewater heat recovery to capturing subway heat that currently just bakes tunnels to 100º F. And you might be surprised by how much energy can be recovered before it ever leaves a building.

We also get into Local Law 97, New York’s landmark building emissions regulation, and why it’s forcing real-world change instead of glossy pledges. This is a grounded, practical conversation about decarbonisation, climate tech, policy, and the uncomfortable reality that many “heritage” systems are simply uncontrolled systems we’ve tolerated for too long.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how to turn building decarbonisation from a compliance headache into a genuine climate solution.

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