Most buildings - young or old - consume between 20 - 35% more energy than is required. With the mandatory Local Law 87 energy audits, that will all change for the better. Owners and managers will now be able to develop an action plan to put their buildings on an energy savings diet plan.
What is Local Law 87 and which buildings must comply? Local Law 87 is part of the Greener Greater Buildings Laws - PlaNYC - which requires that all buildings greater that 50,000 s/f conduct both an energy audit and retro-commissioning by a independent engineer who meets the requirements as set by Local Law 87. This local law covers all classes of buildings including commercial, multifamily and not-for profit - all defined as "covered buildings."
How do I determine the filing deadline for each building? The filing deadline for a building is determined by the last digit of its block number. If a building has a block number ending in a "3", then the filing deadline is 2013. If it ends in a "4", then the deadline is 2014 and so on - up to 2022. Early compliance is allowed and encouraged (up to four years prior to a filing deadline).
As a building owner/manager what action must I take? Because Local Law 87 filing requirements start in 2013, owners and managers should act now to determine the compliance due dates for each of their buildings and then prepare a year by year (2013 - 2022) filing schedule.
Scheduling your energy audit/retro-commissioning: Your building's audit will involve a comprehensive series of inspections and evaluations of the energy and water consumption for your building. These inspections and evaluations will cover the building's envelope, water consumption, lighting and other base building equipment utilizing energy. Once completed, your audit will include a series of recommendations for energy savings measures along with payback calculations. These recommendations then become the guide for owners and managers to develop their own energy savings - or energy diet - plan for each building.
A note of caution: There are only a limited number of independent engineers qualified to perform audits and retro-commissioning as required by Local Law 87. For filings due in 2013, start the process now. Fines for missed deadlines start at $3,000 and go up to $5,000.
George Crawford is the principal of NYG Green Partners, New York, N.Y. Tags: