What are Local Laws 97 and 88?
Local Law 97 is a New York City law that sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions from large buildings. It is part of the city's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Local Law 97 applies to most buildings over 25,000 square feet, and requires them to meet certain energy efficiency and emissions standards. Buildings that do not comply with the law may face fines.
Local Law 97 is one of the most ambitious climate change laws in the United States. It is expected to have a significant impact on the city's buildings, and to help New York City achieve its climate goals.
Local law 88 was enacted in December 2009 as part of the Greener Greater Buildings Plan. It requires upgrades to lighting systems and the installation of sub-meters by January 1, 2025.
New York City’s council found that non-residential lighting is responsible for almost 18% of the energy used in buildings and roughly 18% of carbon emissions from buildings. Due to rapid improvements in lighting technology—like LEDs, occupancy sensors, and controls—it is possible to dramatically reduce energy use and costs by upgrading your lighting to a modern system.
Your path to compliance
First, determine who is responsible for the upgrades to your building. If you are a tenant, resident, or leaser, you are not responsible, but you should check in with your landlord or property owner to see when and how these changes are being implemented. At the end of the day, you’re the one living with the consequences. If you are a building or property owner or co-op/condo association, you are responsible.
Next, determine whether your building is required to comply. To make it easy, if you had to comply with local law 87 (which requires that buildings over 50,000 gross square feet undergo periodic energy audit and retro-commissioning measures), you’ll also have to comply with local law 88.
There’s a chance that some of the lighting in your building already complies with LL88 lighting requirements from changes made during lease turnovers or renovations. But it’s important to track what lighting is already up to code and what areas still need upgrades.
Here are some general guidelines to help you determine if your building is included.
You need to comply:
If your building exceeds 50,000 square feet
If there are two or more buildings on the same tax lot that total more than 100,000 square feet
If there are two or more buildings under condominium ownership that exceed 100,000 square feet, and are governed by the same board of managers
You do not need to comply:
If your building is a 1-3 family residential property.
If your property is in occupancy group R-2 or R-3.
What it means to be “Up To Code”
Covered buildings must demonstrate that the lighting in their building complies with the energy code in place after July 1, 2010. The most recent energy conservation code is from 2020.
There are essentially two parts to energy code lighting standards: energy density, or how much power is used in a given area (measured in watts of lighting per square foot) and lighting upgrades, meaning sensors, timers, control switches, etc.
High-efficacy lamps
High-efficacy is determined by the lumens (light emitted) per watts of power to produce the light. The acceptable ratio of lumens to watts depends on the wattage of the lamps. For example, a 60-watt or greater lamp must produce at least 60 lumens/W to be considered high efficacy. Examples of high-efficacy lamps are compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), T-8 linear fluorescent lamps, and LED lamps. Now that LEDs have been around for a while, they cost roughly the same as T-8s and CFLs, but last years longer and will quickly pay themselves back.
Occupancy sensors
An occupancy sensor automatically turns lighting on when motion is detected in a space, and automatically turns lighting off when motion is no longer detected.
Time-CLOCK controls
A time-switch control is simply a timer that operates an electric switch controlled by the timing mechanism. Essentially, a clock with different lighting programmed for different times of day. These are required in some spaces that do not have occupancy sensors.
Daylight zones
A daylight zone is defined as “the floor area substantially illuminated by daylight”. By identifying the daylight zones in your building, you can determine the areas where implementing daylight control systems would be appropriate.
There are exceptions to every rule and exceptions to every exception. The energy conservation code is no different.
Let us help you find your way! Get in touch with one of Wavelength's LL88 experts today.
Resources
Here you'll find copies of the actual laws, code, and other resources that may help in understanding Local Law 88 a little better.
