With the first compliance year for New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) well underway, owners of applicable buildings have less than four months to meet 2024 emissions limits and less than one year until emissions reports are due. While there are a number of strategies building owners can take to improve energy efficiency and meet emissions limits, some strategies require high upfront costs, long installation timelines, and disruptions to operations, making them less feasible for building owners. In this article, we explore the advantages and disadvantages of key energy efficiency strategies so you can determine which options are best suited for your building’s needs and compliance requirements.

What is Local Law 97 (LL97)?

New York City has set the ambitious goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Buildings are crucial to achieving this goal as they account for two-thirds of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in NYC and 90% of these buildings will still be standing in 2050. In 2019, the New York City Council passed LL97 to reduce the GHG emissions produced by the city’s largest buildings by 40 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

While there are nuances and exceptions to requirements under LL97, the key provisions applicable to most buildings subject to the law are as follows:

• Covered Buildings: Single buildings that exceed 25,000 gross square feet and two or more buildings that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet.
• Compliance Requirements: File an annual emissions report detailing the building’s compliance with established emissions limits or, if the building is not in compliance, by how much it exceeded the emissions limit.
• Emissions Limit Calculation: Gross floor area multiplied by the building’s emissions factor.
• Emissions Generated Calculation: Each energy type’s annual quantity consumed multiplied by the established emissions coefficient.
• Reporting Frequency and Timelines: Annually on May 1st of the following year.
• Penalties for Non-Compliance:
  • Failure to file a building emissions report within 60 days of reporting deadline: Gross floor area multiplied by $0.50 for each month report is not submitted.
  • Exceeding building emissions limits: Difference between the building emissions limit established for a calendar year and the actual emissions reported for such calendar year in the building emissions report multiplied by $268.
  • False statements: Up to $500,000 penalty, imprisonment no more than 30 days, or both.

The above summary provides a high-level overview of the key components and provisions of LL97. For a deep dive into LL97, including its nuances and evolving requirements, download your free copy of our LL97 white paper today.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Key Energy Efficiency Strategies

Owners have multiple strategies they can take to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The below table summarizes the key advantages and disadvantages of four top strategies:

Strategy 1: Improve building envelope

Add or upgrade insulation in walls, seal gaps and cracks, replace old windows and doors with energy efficient ones, etc.

Strategy 2: Upgrade building systems

Replace old HVAC units with new high-efficiency systems, add advanced thermostats and ventilation controls, switch to LED or other energy efficient lighting, etc.

Strategy 3: Install renewable energy systems

Install renewable energy systems such as solar panels to generate clean energy

Strategy 4: Adopt emerging technologies

Use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to optimize energy consumption, such as through our AI-powered Beacon technology for HVAC controls optimization

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While each of these strategies will reduce your building’s energy consumption, operating costs, and emissions, the first three often require significant upfront investment, lengthy installation processes, and may necessitate temporary shutdowns or disruptions to normal building operations. Consequently, strategies such as improving the building envelope, upgrading building systems, and installing renewable energy systems may not be an option for many building owners.

In contrast, the fourth strategy – adopting emerging technologies – is typically neither costly nor disruptive. Our AI-powered Beacon HVAC optimization technology has been proven to improve energy efficiency by as much as 30% without high upfront costs or disruptions to building operations.

Beacon: Artificial intelligence for HVAC controls optimization

HVAC systems account for more than half of the energy used in buildings, making energy efficient improvements to HVAC systems crucial to emissions reduction efforts. However, HVAC systems are often tremendously inefficient as they don’t sufficiently adapt operations in response to factors such as weather or load, leading to increased emissions and higher operating costs.

‍Beacon, our AI-powered HVAC optimization technology, uses ML to dynamically optimize and automate HVAC control setpoints in real-time in response to internal and external factors, including component interactions, weather conditions, and utility rates. Beacon uses AI to interpret available data and simulates how changes in weather conditions and demand would affect the operation and efficiency of the HVAC system. Using these simulations, Beacon identifies the setpoint strategy that leads to the lowest energy usage and, consequently, highest emissions reductions. Beacon has been shown to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and operating costs by up to 30% without sacrificing building comfort.

In contrast to other energy efficiency upgrades, Beacon is both cost-effective and accessible. Beacon integrates directly with your building automation (BAS) or management system (BMS) with no additional hardware and no costly downtime. For owners looking to keep costs down but comply with LL97, Beacon represents a proven, cost-effective way to lower emissions and avoid fines.

Conclusion

With Local Law 97 deadlines fast approaching, building owners can take meaningful steps throughout the remainder of the year to not only comply with this year’s emissions limits, but to establish a strong foundation for long-term compliance in subsequent reporting years. While there are numerous steps building owners can take to lower their building’s emissions, AI-powered HVAC optimization technology like Beacon represents a fast, cost-effective, proven way to lower emissions and comply with LL97.

To learn more about how Beacon can help you meet your LL97 emissions and reporting requirements, request a demo today.