A new study released by the Mayor’s office shows that New York City is making great strides in identifying energy wasted from its largest source of climate change pollution: its buildings.
The report provides information on energy performance of the city’s largest buildings (mostly commercial, multi-family residential). It provides an analysis of 2011 data from city-required energy “benchmarking”—or the tracking and comparison of energy performance—in more than 24,000 buildings that are over 50,000 square feet.
This report is a follow-up to one the city released in 2012. Last year’s report was remarkable in that it gave an initial glimpse into how New York City’s buildings use energy. This year’s report is the first time that such a rich two-year dataset has ever been available for comparative analysis. Now we can really begin to see trends and to pose new questions.
Along with this year’s report, the city is also releasing detailed disclosure data for the city’s largest multi-family residential buildings (meaning residents can actually look up their building’s address and find its energy usage information). This is not only the first time New York City has done that – but the first time any city in the country has made this kind of detailed information publicly available for large multi-family buildings. It will be joined within a few years by Chicago and Washington, DC. Just as we read nutrition labels or compare MPG when buying a car, millions of New Yorkers now have transparent information about their apartment buildings’ energy use. (For more information on what this data reveals about these multi-family buildings, check out this blog from the folks at the Institute for Market Transformation.)
Why does any of this matter? According to the City’s most recent inventory, 74% of citywide greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy used in its buildings. And of that, more than half comes from energy used in just 2% of the largest properties. Those 2% are required to benchmark and disclose their energy use in accordance with a city law that is designed to cut emissions citywide (30% by 2030). By tracking and disclosing this information on building energy performance, we can better understand the problem and how to fix it. This can help reduce climate change pollution and lower buildings’ energy bills.
Today’s report is a testament to New York City’s leadership in embracing benchmarking as a means to improving energy efficiency and combating climate change. And this report offers the largest-ever collection of benchmarking data for a single jurisdiction in the nation – providing more information on building energy use than 7 other cities that are tracking this information combined (Austin, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and DC).
Here’s a quick overview of this new report’s top findings:
- NYC’s buildings are more efficient than the national average – although their efficiency seems to be quite similar to buildings in the Northeast. This could be that buildings in the Northeast, including NYC, are generally older and more solidly built in comparison to the rest of the U.S. (It may surprise some to know that older NYC office buildings, for example, tend to be more efficient than new office construction has been in recent years.) Another factor might be that NYC’s buildings are more intensively used, both in terms of occupant density and operating hours. To be able to fairly compare similar buildings across the country, the ENERGY STAR rating takes key drivers of energy consumption in different building types into account. These include operational characteristics (like the number of workers and hours of use) and weather (warmer or cooler climates). This information is helping show the City where to best focus its efforts when boosting energy efficiency.
- Not all NYC buildings are created equal. NYC buildings that are home to retail businesses showed a huge range in energy intensity – think large chain stores vs. your mom-and-pop shops. The most energy-intensive retail buildings used five times more energy per square foot than the least intensive users. Meanwhile, multifamily residential buildings showed only a small variation in energy consumption between the most and least intensive users. These findings are intriguing and point to the opportunity for energy conservation programs aimed at different building uses and types.
- The city’s median ENERGY STAR score increased from 64 to 67. ENERGY STAR is the standard benchmark used by jurisdictions across the country to rate the efficiency of their buildings. This is a trend that we should watch in future reports to determine whether there is a true increase in NYC building efficiency -- especially as the impacts of Greener, Greater Buildings Plan laws kick in over the next few years.
In addition to identifying these broad takeaways from the raw data, the report draws attention to a couple of excellent local benchmarking success stories—one commercial office building, and one multi-family residential property. These stories show how the city’s benchmarking program is helping to save building owners money and reduce climate change pollution in each sector.
Commercial Building Benchmarking Success Story: 5 Penn Plaza
The benchmarking process allowed building managers at 5 Penn Plaza—a typical large office building in Manhattan—to identify how much energy they were using and uncover opportunities to reduce their usage. As a result, they have taken strides to improve their efficiency. This includes upgrading common area lighting, installing occupancy sensors in restrooms, putting timers on hot water heaters to prevent excess usage during periods of vacancy, installing pipe insulation, installing a boiler efficiency module, and installing efficient lighting and occupancy sensors during the fit-out of a new full floor tenant. As a result, they have saved money and reduced their fuel oil use by 25%, qualified for special ENERGY STAR recognition, and decreased their overall energy intensity by 5%.
Residential Building Benchmarking Success Story: 250 Cabrini Boulevard
Due to building upgrades identified in an energy audit, 250 Cabrini Boulevard—a 77-unit coop in Manhattan—is saving almost $11,000 a year in operational costs and has lowered its maintenance expenses. One of the improvements included a new boiler control that responds to interior apartment and outdoor temperatures. Not only are the residents are more comfortable, but their coop is saving money. Even though the latest round of reported benchmarking data includes only a few months of usage after the upgrades it shows that the building saw a 6% reduction in its fuel oil consumption. And, the latest data is showing that they managed to reduce their further heating fuel usage by 21% over the entire 2011-2012 heating season.
NYC’s benchmarking law is helping to shepherd in a new era of energy awareness and improvement. And, because the City also requires that buildings disclose their benchmarking scores, owners can compare their buildings to their peers’. This awareness can help building tenants, operators and businesses uncover major energy savings while unlocking market-driven demand for energy-efficiency products and local skilled workers.
It is no wonder that nine major U.S. cities have adopted similar policies as the basis for their efforts to reduce the huge amount of wasted energy in America’s existing buildings. Which cities are next?
Related Stories
| Feb 28, 2013
Daniel J. Rectenwald promoted to chief operating officer of HGA
HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA) has promoted Daniel J. Rectenwald, AIA, to Chief Operating Officer. He will oversee daily operation of the firm’s design and business strategies across seven national offices.
| Feb 28, 2013
Videos reveal City 2.0 ideas from 2012 TED Prize winners
Thought leader TED has released eight new videos from winners of its 2012 TED Prize: the City 2.0. The prize went to 10 winners involved in urban issues, including education, safety, health, food, and public space.
| Feb 28, 2013
Greeening Silicon Valley: Samsung's new 1.1 million-sf HQ
Samsung Electronics' new 1.1 million sf San Jose campus will support at least 2,500 sales and R&D staff in the company's semiconductor and display businesses.
| Feb 28, 2013
BIA opens entries for 2013 Brick in Architecture Awards
The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has opened entry submissions for its 2013 Brick In Architecture Awards—with a new Renovation/Restoration category and new category divisions this year. BIA’s annual awards honor architectural excellence and sustainable design nationwide that incorporates clay brick products as the predominant exterior building or paving material.
| Feb 27, 2013
Marvin Windows and Doors now accepting entries for fifth annual Marvin Architect’s Challenge
Architects have an opportunity for their best work to compete on a global stage in the fifth annual Marvin Architect’s Challenge. Previous winners of Marvin Windows and Doors’ prestigious award program have come from Spain, Ireland and across the United States — with their work among the world’s finest.
| Feb 27, 2013
Bronx residents get LEED Platinum public housing complex, rooftop farm
The New York City Housing Authority has opened Arbor House, a 124-unit LEED Platinum complex in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx.
| Feb 25, 2013
HOK sustainability expert Mary Ann Lazarus tapped by AIA for strategy consulting position
Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, LEED® AP BD+C, has accepted a two-year consulting position with the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC. Her new position, which begins March 1, will focus on increasing the AIA's impact on sustainability across the profession. The St. Louis-based architect will continue consulting at HOK.
| Feb 25, 2013
First look: Google's new HQ is engineered for creative collisions
The new California "Googleplex" will be engineered to make sure no Google employee will be more than a 2.5 minute walk away from any other.
| Feb 25, 2013
AISC seeks proposals for development of BIM best practices guide
The American Institute of Steel Construction seeks assistance from BIM users in identifying and documenting best practices to facilitate the long-term standardization of BIM in structural steel construction.
| Feb 22, 2013
Westlake Reed Leskosky will renovate training center for Cleveland Browns
Local firm Westlake Reed Leskosky has been chosen to design renovations to the Cleveland Browns' Training and Administrative Complex in Berea, Ohio.