 New York City energy benchmarking laws, Local Law 84 and Local Law 133. ensure that owners of larger buildings track and annually submit their data on energy and water use. These policies are some of the steps that the city is taking toward increasing energy efficiency and decreasing emissions in order to reach its climate goals. By making benchmarking the norm, this assessment cultivates transparency and better energy decision-making among property owners. This is an important first step to understanding how a building is performing and making upgrades that help create a cleaner, greener New York.
Building Energy Benchmarking
NYC’s Building owners are facing a challenging task, i.e., compliance with NYC Local Law 97. The law aims to achieve a 40% reduction in City’s GHG emissions by 2030. While challenging, it can also greatly benefit building owners if approached with proper planning and implementation. NYC Local Law 97 and Energy Benchmarking are inter-related and Benchmarking your Building can greatly benefit you in reducing your GHG Emissions.
Building energy benchmarking is the practice of monitoring a property’s energy and water consumption and comparing its performance relative to similar buildings. This benchmarking is required annually using the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool under Local Law 84/133. It generates a performance score that indicates to owners whether their buildings are energy efficient or require upgrades. It fosters continuous improvement, reduces energy costs, and is essential for compliance today and in the future.
Understanding New York City’s Local Law 84/133
The law mandates buildings that are larger than 25,000 square feet or up to comply with annual energy benchmark reporting. It is a process of measuring, tracking, and reporting buildings’ energy and water consumption using a benchmarking tool. LL84/133 compliance requires building owners to use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. This tool calculates an ENERGY STAR score as well as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions based on a building’s information and utility data. The ENERGY STAR score will also be used to define the building’s Energy Efficiency Rating, or Energy Grade as per NYC Local Law 95. This not only helps to reduce GHG emissions and the energy costs of buildings, but it can also increase the asset values of building owners.
Using benchmarking, you can measure your building’s current energy usage against past consumption and compare it to a designated performance level and/or similar buildings in your portfolio (if applicable). In 2009, New York City became the first city to mandate benchmarking, with the implementation of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan.
Aiding this process, the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® benchmarking tool can help you get—and make sense of—the data you need to make the grade. Portfolio Manager works with your building’s aggregated energy-usage data, as supplied by your energy provider. National Grid fully supports this linkage.
An Accurate Energy Benchmarking can help you in reducing your carbon emissions by up to 35%- Jimmy Carchietta – CEO of The Cotocon Group, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC
Why grades matter?
When a building scores a low grade, it is an indication of building’s Energy performance. It can help us identify that there is a scope of improvement within the building, whether it is Retro-Commissioning, Energy Audits or more. Just like with restaurants, an Energy Grade score is soon set to become a standard of what your business is seen as, in terms of people doing business with you.
Using data to our advantage
Building Owners can generate ENERGYSTAR performance documents for each building to get performance insights. We can then use this data to :-
- Identify underperforming properties.
- Set investment priorities
- Implement a comprehensive management program—a roadmap—for achieving energy-management success.
A good Energy Grade can really help in increasing your assets value, drive higher occupancy while setting you on the right track towards NYC Local Law 97.
GHG Emissions – This is where it all starts and ends.
The amount of GHG Emissions your building emits will eventually decide everything. From your ENERGY STAR Score, Your Local Law 95 Energy grade to your compliance or non-compliance with NYC Local Law 97, it is all decided based on your Carbon Emissions.
An Energy Efficient building can reap the benefits of compliance with the NYC Sustainability laws, avoiding fines, higher energy grades and increased asset values, while at the same time a building with high emissions that fails to meet the limits set by the city is at a risk of huge fines, low occupancies, and noncompliance.
Conclusion
New York City Local Law 84/133 compliance for commercial buildings is just the start of the new energy benchmarking process. Property owners comply with regulations by tracking energy use, pinpointing inefficiencies and maximizing performance, which can not only increase property value but also reduce its ecological footprint. Benchmarking is the first step towards achieving sustainability and lower emissions, and a greener New York City.
The Cotocon Group holds experience of over 10 years in helping building owners reduce their GHG Emissions while also making sure that the short term and long-term goals are also met. We can help you with Benchmarking your Building while also making sure that you are on the right path towards NYC Local Law 97 Compliance.
For excellence in Compliance with NYC Local Law 97 and Energy Benchmarking – Call us – (212) 889-6566
