Learn about Local Law 84
The New York City government has carried out an ongoing effort to gather relevant data on how NYC buildings are consuming energy. An attempt to audit every property will be unfeasible regarding both cost and time, so efforts have focused on the premises that have the most energy. To more efficiently gather data on building energy use, the NYC government launched Local Legislation local law 84 and 87. LL84 is also known as the Benchmarking Law, and the buildings it covers are required to submit annual data on energy and water usage. LL87 aims to achieve a more comprehensive breakdown of energy information, requiring buildings to perform energy audits and retro-commissioning while delivering energy efficiency reports (EER) every ten years.
Under LL87, energy audits have the objective of providing detailed building performance data, which is very valuable for the NYC authorities to deploy targeted energy efficiency and emissions reduction measures. On the other hand, retro-commissioning validates the operating conditions of building systems, making adjustments or minor alterations to ensure the most efficient operation possible with the existing equipment. Since gathering data for all NYC would be unfeasible, ll84 and LL87 goal buildings over a certain size. When first launched in 2009, both laws were for all buildings meeting any of the following criteria:
* City-owned buildings with at least 10,000 ft2 of floor area.
* Private buildings with at least 50,000 ft2 of floor area.
* Groups of buildings under the same tax account or condominium ownership, with a whole field of 100,000 ft2. Consider that
LL84 was amended in 2016 through Local Law 133, which lowers the threshold for individual private buildings. From 2018 onwards, individual buildings with at least 25,000 ft2 of floor space will have to perform benchmarking. The requirements for LL87 Weren't modified. Property owners that are unsure if these laws cover their building may go to the Green Buildings & Energy Efficiency section of the NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability website. All buildings covered by LL84 and its amendment are required to submit energy intake data, but water consumption data isn't needed unless the property was equipped with an automatic water meter, for at least a full calendar year before the data entry date.
Benchmarking data based on LL84 must be submitted by covered buildings annually, and the deadline is May 1st of each year. In the case of buildings above 25,000 ft2 but below 50,000 ft2, which weren't previously covered by the Benchmarking Law, the initial data submission has to be carried out by May 1, 2018. Energy efficiency reports based on LL87 are filed once every ten years, but they're not submitted at the same time by all buildings. Instead, each building was assigned a different year to deliver the first report based on the last digit of their tax account (0 - 9), effectively breaking down the covered buildings into ten groups of roughly the same size. The Energy Efficiency Report can be filed at any time during the assigned calendar year and is needed to add results from the energy audit and retro-commissioning. Although all covered buildings must submit the report, there are exemptions available for the energy audit and retro-commissioning process.
Energy Audit Exemptions: Buildings covered by LL87 are not required to perform an energy audit if they meet any of the following conditions:
* ENERGY STAR label from the US Environmental Protection Agency for at least two of the three decades before the report delivery year.
* LEED Certification for Existing Buildings from the US Green Building Council, over the four years before the report Shipping year.
* Validation by an NYC Registered Design Professional, proving that building energy efficiency is at least 25 points over an average construction of its kind, according to LEED or another approved rating system.
In addition to the exemptions above, a building is waived in the first energy audit if it meets a series of minimum performance requirements in at least six of the seven categories described below, subject to validation by an NYC Registered Design Professional:
* Individual heating controls.
* Common area and exterior lighting.
* Low-flow taps and shower heads.
* Domestic hot water.
* Washing machines.
Retro-Commissioning Exemptions: This exemption is only available for buildings that have received a LEED Certification for Existing Buildings within the two years before report delivery, and that have earned the two following points:
* Commissioning evaluation and evaluation
* Commissioning implementation
LL84: How to Submit Benchmarking Data
The NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability has decided to collect building benchmarking data via the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, an Internet tool developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. After the account is first created, the Portfolio Manager requests detailed building information, but then the annual procedure is simple. The best way to collect energy and water consumption data is to ask it directly from the corresponding utilities. This can save loads of time in properties with multiple tenants who are metered separately because there is no need to ask each tenant to provide data. Most utility businesses provide aggregated energy consumption data, and the Department of Environmental Protection can upload water consumption data automatically.
Final Recommendations: Compliance with LL84 and LL87 can be a complicated topic, so professional advice is strongly advised. Since there are exemptions for ENERGY STAR and LEED Certified buildings, buildings supervisors who are planning to get these certificates can benefit from doing this before the next EER is due. Working with a technical engineering consulting company can simplify LL84 and LL87 compliance for NYC businesses, allowing them to focus on their business.