Pandemic Reflections: NYC Green Building Progress + Prosperity
Farah Ahmad
With a global pandemic slowing down the operations of the world, it’s seemingly become easier to BE DISTRACTED BY the chaos of interruption and lose sight of the progress of the last two years. However, as I sit at my new work-from-home station and retrospectively review New York City government and building legislature, I can’t help but admire the progress we have made as a leading city and be inspired to keep chipping away!
New York City’s green building policy, including the largest bundle of sustainable building policy in 2019, have set the stage for ADVANCEMENT for years to come. The Climate Mobilization Act in 2019 brought with it sweeping reform for building emissions.
I would like to highlight some of the more impactful policy in New York City, many of which will undoubtedly dictate trends for the rest of the country as we continue to monitor their outcomes on building performance with increasing data each year. So, check these out, and keep an eye out for similar legislation in your jurisdiction. I’ve carefully selected the more pressing policy for you so you can stay updated.
SOLAR PV AND GREEN ROOF
Local Laws 92 and 94 of 2019 enforce a Sustainable Roofing Zone provision for new residential and commercial buildings and roof assembly replacements that include the structural roof deck. I have seen a few integrated PV and green roof products at trade shows, most notably at Greenbuild 2019. These might become more useful for areas like New York City now!
Sustainable Roofing Zone- So, what’s the concept?
The Sustainable Roofing Zone makes cool roofs cooler, with more stringent solar reflectance index (SRI) values (or compliance with a combination of prescribed thermal emittance and initial solar reflectance values) for both low slope and high slope roofs. More prominently, this law mandates the implementation of either a PV system or green roof system on every feasible square footage, given of course exceptions of various rooftop obstructions, clearance access pathways, etc. It’s an ambitious law that is buckling down on maximizing roof space for the benefit of the environment.
Where else have we seen solar PV policy?
Across the country, we’ve seen the adoption of various solar PV requirements, including Solar Ready provisions adopted by some jurisdictions as part of local energy code (modeled after IECC). While this hasn’t picked up nationwide and is sadly still considered innovative in many parts of the country, some notable jurisdictions to have adopted the solar ready provisions for either residential or commercial projects (or both!) include: Seattle, Orlando, Tucson, St. Louis, and various cities in Texas. These Solar Ready provisions require buildings to dedicate roof space and incorporate infrastructure (conduit + electrical capacity) that would allow for future installation of PVs. New York adopted this provision in its 2016 Energy Conservation Code but has now eliminated it in its 2020 code due to the more stringent local law requirement detailed above. California has also advanced solar PV legislation and mandated the actual installation of PV panels for all single family residences and residential projects 3 stories or less.
BUILDING ENERGY GRADING
Local Law 95 of 2019 is the country’s first building energy grading law.
We’re grading buildings on energy performance?! How?
Yes, and we’re not the first to do it! The European Union implemented a similar system back in 2002, but their assessment mechanisms vary. NYC’s local law requires buildings that are greater than 25,000 SF and city buildings greater than 10,000 SF to use the Energy Star benchmarking software tool (which requires input of data such as energy and water consumption, project location, number of occupants) and to generate a score which will yield a grade from the city’s Department of Buildings. The grade must then be visibly posted by the building owner for occupants and visitors to see. Such public prominence of the Building Energy Efficiency Rating label will hopefully spur building operational reform since it will place building performance in the limelight and hold owners accountable. A building’s grade will set the tone for its market value too- there is a lot at stake!
BUILDING EMISSIONS CAP
Local Law 97 of 2019 sets caps on annual greenhouse gas emissions for the city’s buildings that are greater than 25,000 SF, beginning in 2024.
Hold existing buildings accountable!
This is truly the largest single piece of green building legislation for an existing building stock! And, it will force owners to commit to energy retrofits beginning now, since monetary penalties will be issued for every metric ton of CO2 that is exceeded. Building owners will be required to submit an emissions intensity report each year in order to document the building performance. Surely, this law will accelerate the city’s goals of carbon neutrality by 2050.
The next two policies are not a part of the Climate Mobilization Act release, but are crucial green building updates for the City of New York:
BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN
Local Law 15 of 2020 went into effect this year (2021) in New York City and is certainly a trendsetting law for jurisdictions nationwide, so keep an eye out! San Francisco was the first major city to adopt bird friendly design requirements, but several jurisdictions have followed suit since, including Oakland, Chicago, and the state of Minnesota.
How will design change to accommodate birds?
To combat the hundreds of millions of birds who die annually from building collisions, NYC now mandates that all building envelope surfaces within 75’ above grade must be constructed of bird friendly materials, ie with a maximum threat factor of 25. While there are minor exceptions, you can expect that all new construction and entire envelope alterations will be doing alot of R&D before specifying glass, steel, etc. Essentially, the law is stringent on glazing and reflective metallic surfaces, while non-reflective surfaces like brick, concrete, and stucco surfaces will easily comply. Additionally, areas adjacent to a green roof (which attract birds), and any fly-through conditions creating a line of sight through that element, must all comply.
ENERGY CODE
The 2020 NYC Energy Conservation Code saw plenty of changes since the 2016 ECC, but I will highlight just a few.
I’m thrilled to see these implemented:
A) Air barrier commissioning and testing requirements have expanded to cover more commercial buildings in New York City. This means more thorough documentation of envelope seams and joints, more accountability for air leakage testing and more quality control during construction.
B) New 1 or 2 family dwellings and townhouse developments with parking will now be required to be electric vehicle ready! This is super exciting for the boroughs of New York City, where charging infrastructure has seen limited growth for private property. Either an outlet OR conduit + panel capacity for the future installation of an outlet is to be provided.
C) Another exciting update for residential energy code is that exhaust-only ventilation is prohibited and only the following may be provided: a balanced ventilation system with specified air flow rates OR supply and exhaust ventilation equipped with either a heat recovery ventilator or energy recovery ventilator.
New York City continues to raise the bar for energy code compliance and its code updates speak volumes to industry needs.
So what’s next for New York City? While I continue telecommuting until the pandemic subsides, I can’t help but be hopeful for the changes that are coming and will continue transforming our urban center!
NYC is gravitating towards net-zero energy new construction by 2030.
The city expects to increase its EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure capacity.
New York State is committing to 100% clean electricity by 2040, which means NYC will undoubtedly serve as a leader for our vast state. This will mean electrification of buildings, increased production of renewable energy and expansion of energy storage to meet these goals.
With increasing fluctuations in climate change, I am certain New York City will look to mandate its current recommendations in place for climate resiliency, the Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines.
Buildings will look to improve indoor air quality, addressing occupant safety and ventilation, in response to the pandemic.