Energy Services

Building owners, property managers, and boards are being asked to make more decisions about energy use, emissions, system upgrades, and compliance, often while dealing with aging infrastructure, occupied conditions, and competing capital needs. RAND helps clients make sense of those decisions through energy services that support benchmarking, audits, Local Law 97 strategy, retro-commissioning, electrification planning, and building performance goals.

Because energy work rarely exists in isolation, RAND’s Energy Services Team looks at these issues in the context of the full property, including building systems, building envelope conditions, repair priorities, and long-term capital planning.

Energy Compliance and Building Performance Services

Local Law 97 Compliance Strategy

Local Law 97 is pushing many buildings to take a closer look at emissions, energy use, and long-term system planning. RAND helps clients understand how Local Law 97 of 2019 affects their property, evaluate emissions exposure, and identify practical pathways toward compliance. Our work can include reviewing building energy use and systems, assessing potential reduction measures, and developing phased strategies that support near-term requirements while planning for stricter future limits.

Benchmarking and Annual Reporting

RAND helps building owners and managers prepare and submit annual energy and water benchmarking reports through EPA Portfolio Manager in compliance with NYC Benchmarking Law (Local Law 84). Our work can include organizing building data, coordinating utility information, and helping clients understand what their benchmarking results indicate about building performance, potential improvement opportunities, and longer-term planning needs, including those related to Local Law 97.

Energy Audits and Retro-commissioning

RAND performs energy audits as part of Local Law 87 compliance and to provide a clearer understanding of how a building is using energy. Our team reviews utility consumption, surveys building systems and components, and identifies operational, maintenance, and capital improvement measures that may improve efficiency and reduce long-term operating costs. RAND’s Energy Analysis Reports document the findings and outline recommended scopes of work, including estimated costs and potential savings. Local Law 87 applies to covered buildings, including many properties 50,000 gross square feet or larger, and requires periodic energy audits and submission of an Energy Efficiency Report.

Retro-commissioning is also part of Local Law 87 compliance for covered buildings. RAND evaluates base-building system performance, develops retro-commissioning measures, and prepares the documentation needed to support Energy Efficiency Report submissions.

Electrification and Heating System Planning

Whether a building is evaluating heating plant upgrades, oil-to-gas conversion, fuel-switching options, or electrification strategies, RAND helps clients understand the implications and plan the right next step. Our work can include feasibility studies to evaluate existing heating requirements and fuel use, project new service and equipment needs, estimate costs, projected annual savings, and payback, and develop upgrade plans that reflect the building’s systems, operating needs, and capital priorities.

RAND also supports electrification planning for existing buildings and new construction projects. In new construction, that work may also need to account for requirements such as Local Law 154.

RAND helps clients evaluate practical efficiency improvements tied to lighting, controls, and related system upgrades that may support compliance and improve overall building performance. For covered properties, this may include work related to Local Law 88, which addresses lighting system upgrades and certain sub-meter installation requirements.

Sustainable Roof Planning: Solar and Green Roofs

RAND also supports green roof and solar roof planning as part of larger building improvement and sustainability efforts. Our work can include feasibility review of the existing roof’s construction, condition, and load-bearing capacity, as well as coordination with zoning and code requirements. RAND then recommends the most appropriate system for the building, prepares the design and specifications for installation, and administers the project through completion. In New York City, these decisions may also be affected by Local Laws 92 and 94, which require sustainable roofing measures for certain projects.

Why RAND

RAND’s energy services are shaped by our broader experience with existing buildings, including MEP systems, building envelope issues, repair and replacement work, and local law compliance. That perspective allows us to look at energy-related decisions in the context of the property as a whole, not as a standalone filing or separate study.

Incentives, Funding, and Program Support

RAND is a NYSERDA Multifamily Building Solutions Network (MFBSN) Provider and NYC Accelerator Service Provider. These affiliations strengthen our ability to help building owners and managers evaluate energy-saving measures, plan decarbonization and compliance work, and integrate those efforts into broader building improvement programs. Through these partnerships, eligible clients may also gain access to technical guidance, incentives, and funding opportunities offered through NYSERDA, NYC Accelerator, utilities, and other related programs.

NYSERDA Multifamily Building Solution Network

Energy Team Credentials

To provide building owners with the quality of expertise required to keep their properties operating at maximum capacity and compliant with energy-efficiency regulations, RAND staffs its Energy Services Team with highly trained professionals who hold the following licenses and credentials:

  • Professional Engineers (PE) and Registered Architects (RA)
  • Certified Energy Managers (CEM)
  • Certified Building Commissioning Professionals (CBCP)
  • Multi Family Building Analyst (MFBA) Professionals
  • LEED Accredited Professionals (AP) and Green Associates (GA)