Following the precedent set at New York City's restaurants, building owners will now have letter grades posted outside their entrances.
Owners of buildings that are subject to NYC's Benchmarking Law (Local Laws 84/09 and 133/16) will be required to post energy efficiency letter grades issued by the city, starting October 31, 2020 per Local Law 33 of 2018 as amended by Local Law 95 of 2019.
Building Energy Efficiency Rating labels will be made available by the DOB every year on October 1 and must be posted by October 31 to avoid penalties.
As mandated by NYC Benchmarking Law, owners of buildings over 25,000 square feet are required to submit an annual analysis of their energy and water consumption to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) online benchmarking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Based on this reporting, buildings will be assigned energy efficiency scores. The scores will then be rated from A to F as follows:
- A - score is equal to or greater than 85;
- B - score is equal to or greater than 70 but less than 85;
- C - score is equal to or greater than 55 but less than 70;
- D - score is less than 55;
- F - for buildings that didn't submit required benchmarking information;
- N - for buildings exempted from benchmarking or not covered by the Energy Star program.
Building Energy Efficiency Rating labels will be available in the NYC Department of Buildings' DOB NOW Public Portal annually on October 1. Building owners must print and display the label in a conspicuous location near each public entrance by October 31 of each year; failure to do so will result in a DOB violation and an annual fine of $1,250.
CONTACT RAND
For more information on how to comply with NYC Benchmarking Law and Local Law 33/18, contact RAND at info@nullrandpc.com or 212-675-8844. Our Energy Services Team can help assist you with possible energy conservation measures and help you reduce energy consumption, save on energy costs, and raise your building's energy efficiency.
Jim Marcinek is a Project Manager on RAND's Energy Team.
