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Local Law 84: Benchmarking- Reporting Energy & Water Use

Benchmarking- process of measuring a property’s energy & water, over time, & as compared to others.

 Benchmarking is the process of measuring a property’s consumption of resources, such as energy and water, over time, and as compared to other buildings in similar classifications.

Qualifying Facts:

• Buildings in NYC measuring more than 25,000 square feet, or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 square feet, are required to annually measure, track, and report their energy and water consumption by May 1. 

o This process is referred to as benchmarking, and is conducted on a government provided energy management tool called EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

• As part of PlaNYC 2030, a building’s reported ENERGY STAR Benchmarking score is made available to the public to encourage and generate energy efficiency and a greener usage of resources.

• LL84 covers buildings only in NYC’s five boroughs

• Buildings must be 25,000 square feet or larger

• LL84 requires the measurement & benchmarking of building energy & water use, and the submittal of the results to the City of New York

• Benchmarking reveals the relative efficiency of underlying systems to evaluate operational performance in comparison to similar buildings.

• Each year between January 1st and April 31st data must be collected and submitted for the prior year

• The owner is responsible for reporting results to the Department of Building (DOB).

• The owner must request tenant energy data in January, using the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS) form, and the tenant has until February 15th (or the day s/he moves out, if earlier) to report such information.

• Owners must maintain records for three years. 

• Local Law 84 exempts owners of “garden apartments” from being required to benchmark. As of October 31, 2016, the list of buildings required to benchmark excludes all residential properties that consist of three stories or less, for which ownership and maintenance responsibility of the HVAC and hot water heating systems are held by each individual dwelling unit owner.