Although the glowing cityscapes at night are a pleasure to behold, an incredible amount of energy is wasted in the background. The United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA assumes that almost 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted.

While residential buildings are a part of the problem, commercial energy waste is undoubtedly more widespread. Building owners and tenants are subject to penalties or fines when they fail to meet the NYC local law compliance for energy efficiency.

In this article, delve into the simplest ways to enhance energy efficiency in your NYC commercial space. Before we start, explore the importance of energy efficiency for your building in today’s environmentally conscious world.

Importance of Energy Efficiency For NYC Commercial Building Owners

Besides being necessary for NYC local law compliance with energy efficiency standards and regulations, ensuring energy efficiency is important for these other reasons:

Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Burning coal, natural gas, or oil produces 70% of the country’s electricity, which results in significant atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. Due to better equipment, commercial buildings that use less energy produce less emissions.

Tax Advantages

You are eligible for both state and federal tax benefits if you achieve energy efficiency. The largest tax credit for energy-efficient improvements is $1.80 per square foot for improvements that reduce heating and cooling expenditures by at least 50%.

5 Ways To Enhance Your Commercial Building’s Energy Efficiency

Now that you know the need and importance of improving your commercial building’s energy efficiency, let’s learn the most simple ways to achieve that:

Lighting Upgrades

Lighting takes up 17% of the total electricity used by commercial structures. As a result, switching to LED lighting is one of the best ways to reduce electricity costs instantly. Compared to conventional lighting, LED lighting may endure up to 15 times longer and consume up to 90% less energy.

Ensure upgrading the lighting system in your entire commercial structure. If you’re using incandescent bulbs in your building, it’s time to replace them with something more energy-efficient, like CFL or LED bulbs.

Due to their remarkable energy-saving qualities, LED bulbs, especially, are a preferred option. They can save businesses significant money on power because they use up to 90% less energy than fluorescent light bulbs.

Inspect & Replace Obsolete Appliances

Check the equipment in your office carefully; chances are they have been there ever since you came in. Therefore, they most likely aren’t energy-saving technology!

If so, consider buying new ENERGY STAR-rated equipment. This indicates that the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the technology as efficient. ENERGY STAR-rated appliances often turn themselves off automatically after a certain amount of inactivity.

To save money on energy costs and reduce your office’s carbon footprint, simply check for the blue sticker on any item.

Weatherize Windows and Doors

Buildings lose heat through gaps and cracks during the cold. People can weatherize a business building’s doors and windows to stop HVAC-related energy loss. By encircling a frame with weatherstripping, you can separate the temperature inside from the outside.

After cleaning and drying the surfaces, people can attach the strips to doors and windows. The fabric must be pressed against the inside border when the door or window closes. The weather stripping’s ability to reduce HVAC run times will effectively lower a building’s utility expenditures.

Revolving doors are another feature builders can add to buildings to improve energy efficiency. With this function, doors can be closed at all times, and people can still enter. Revolving doors are approximately eight times more energy efficient than conventional buildings.

After a building has been weatherized, people can install smart technology to reduce appliance energy loss. Also, lower your utility bills by introducing smart thermostats in your commercial space.

Retrofit or Upgrade The HVAC System

Experts recommend retrofitting your commercial building’s HVAC systems. They consider it an active energy-efficient strategy as HVAC systems contribute to most of your commercial buildings’ overall energy consumption.

Retrofitting or changing the HVAC system with more energy-efficient parts and equipment will enhance your building’s overall energy savings. For instance, you can add smart thermostats to your commercial structure. Moreover, optimizing the ventilation systems always helps in saving commercial energy.

Your HVAC unit’s suitability for a retrofit or whether it needs to be completely replaced will depend on how old it is, how big it is, and how well it has been maintained.

For instance, if your air conditioner is older than ten years, replacing it might save you 20% on cooling expenses. We advise either getting an energy audit or having a professional come out and particularly check your HVAC system.

Conduct an Energy Efficiency Audit

Energy audits in NYC involve a comprehensive evaluation of a commercial building’s overall energy usage to determine whether it is efficient enough. From HVAC issues to weatherization, this audit detects all obstacles to your energy-efficiency compliance.

By hiring experts from leading compliance solution providers like The Cotocon Group, commercial building owners can relax about their building’s energy efficiency compliance with the NYC local laws. These auditors prepare reports on your building’s energy usage and performance and outline the areas of improvisation.

The energy audit procedure aims to find the best potential energy-saving solutions. These solutions usually involve building control upgradation, insulation, and more. Also, these audits generate reports with advisory tips to determine what energy-efficiency measures and plans to implement and in what sequence.

Final Words

If you own a commercial building in NYC, you must address its energy efficiency problem. Those failing to meet compliance with NYC local laws requiring building owners to achieve energy efficiency are subject to fines and penalties. This is where energy audit from the best professionals comes to aid.

At The Cotocon Group, we are ready to help all commercial building owners in NYC improve their building’s energy efficiency and meet compliance with NYC local laws concerning NYC’s buildings’ energy efficiency. Our experts perform the best-in-class energy audit to help you improve your building’s energy efficiency rating in no time. So, contact us today.