Introduction to Benchmarking Metrics

Introduction To Benchmarking Metrics

Introduction to Benchmarking Metrics – NYC Local Law 84, introduced in 2009 mandates buildings over 50,000 square feet or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 square feet to partake in ‘energy benchmarking’ – to annually measure, track, and report energy & water consumption. Building owners can evaluate their property’s energy efficiency comparing to others in the city under this law. Local Law 84 is one of the four plans as part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan and it easily applies to at least 16,000 buildings in NYC. Later, NYC Local Law 133 of 2016 amended the Local Law 84, which expanded the covered buildings and now includes mid-sized buildings that are over 25,000 square feet.

Building energy benchmarking is a systemic and continuous process of reviewing building’s energy consumption. It facilitates building owners in identifying poorly performing buildings, establishing a baseline for measuring the improvement and encouraging a competitive spirit. Moreover, it is the first step that building owners can take to strategically reduce energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas emissions from their building and ultimately comply with the more stringent Local Law 97.

There are many tools developed for energy benchmarking. For example, Local Law 84/133 requires building owners to use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for data submission. ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager analyzes energy and water consumption and carbon emissions for a whole building. If building owners are interested in their building’s energy performance in depth, they need to conduct energy auditing and commissioning and this type of study requires certified professionals to manage.

In the upcoming blogs, we will discuss the benefits of conducting energy auditing and commissioning for your buildings and how you could use an Energy Efficiency Report generated by complying with NYC Local Law 87 to deeply analyze your building’s performance and navigate energy cost savings opportunity.