NYC Local Law 84/133 Benchmarking
· All buildings over 25,000 SqFt must have an annual Benchmarking
· Involves gathering all building energy usage (Electric, Natural Gas, Oil) including tenant aggregate
· A building energy model is created using a tool from the US Department of Energy (DOE) called Portfolio Manger
· Occupancies, building size, heating and air conditioning are defined in Portfolio Manager
· The building is then benchmarked and scored
Energy Audits
- All buildings over 50,000 SqFt must file every ten years based on the last digit of their block number corresponding with calendar year
- The first part is the Energy Audit which is a full building energy study of each building system
- Must be performed to ASHRAE Standard 211-Commercial Building Energy Audits
- Building systems include the envelope (walls, roof, doors, windows), lighting, heating, hot water, air conditioning and ventilation systems
- Data on building systems is gathered and a building energy model is created to simulate the building's energy performance
- The building energy model is calibrated to the actual building energy usage that is benchmarked
- Energy measures are developed and the savings is deducted from the calibrated baseline energy model
- A feasibility study is produced to determine which energy measures are viable for implementation
Retro-commissioning
- The second part is the Retro-commissioning which is a tuning of building systems
- Retro-commissioning is mandatory and deficiencies must be corrected
- Must be performed to NEBB Standard 120-Technical Retro-commmissioning of Existing Buildings
- Functional Performance Testing is applied to building systems
- Building systems are tested to design performance
- Sequences of operation are tested
- Controls and sensors are tested for calibration
Violations for not complying with Local Law 87 is $3,000 the first year and $5,000 each following year.
New requirement mandates that a Registered Design Professional (NYS Licensed Professional Engineer, PE or NYS Registered Architect, RA) oversee and file the Local Law 87 Energy Audit. This requirement is being phased in gradually.