Changes to Local Law 87 - What you need to know
Changes to Local Law 87: What to Know
In 2009, New York City’s Greener Greater Building Plan was enacted in hopes of increasing energy efficiency of buildings that generate this large amount of waste per year. With that plan came the creation and implementation of Local Law 87, which requires all buildings over 50,000 to retro-commission and complete an energy audit every 10 years.
A full decade later, the Department of Buildings implemented new rules and changes to Local Law 87 (LL87). To better clarify the changes and keep you as updated as possible, we’ve created a FAQ to highlight some of the key changes to LL87:
What’s new about LL87?
- Updates to definitions that clarifies how spaces and equipment types are defined
- Replaces guidelines with ANSI-approved standards for procedures that must be followed
- Standardizes testing protocols
- Standardizes the contents of the Energy Audit and Retro-Commissioning reports
- Clarifies the content of the Current Facilities Requirements (CFR)
- Restricts qualifications of approved consultants to Registered Design Professionals
- Changes to extension deadlines
- Training documents
- Energy Efficiency Report review process
- Deep Energy Retrofit Plan (DERPA) tool
- Violations and penalties updates
*More information can be found in NYC Building’s guide
What qualifications will energy auditors and retro-commissioners need?
The recent changes have restricted the approved agency qualifications required for Registered Design Professionals to manage EER submissions. To qualify as an energy auditor or retro-commissioning agent, the professional must meet the following criteria:
Energy Auditor
The energy auditor must be a registered design professional and may not be a building staff member. The auditor or individual under their direct supervision must be one of the following:
- CEM or CEA certified by AEE
- BEAP certified by ASHRAE
- HPBDP certified by ASHRAE
- MFBA certified by BPO (for multi-family audits only)
Retro-commissioning agents
The retro-commissioning agent must be a certified Refrigerating System Operating Engineer, a registered design professional, or a licensed High-Pressure Boiler Operating Engineer. The retro-commissioning agent or individual under their direct supervision must be certified as a commissioning professional or authority be one of the following groups:
- Building Commissioning Association
- AEE
- ASHRAE
- University of Wisconsin
- Associated Air Balance Council Commissioning Group (AABC / ACG)
- NEBB
What changes are being made to the energy audit and retro-commissioning procedures?
To create a sense of uniformity, LL87 is now adopting ANSI-approved standards for procedures required to perform energy auditing and retro-commissioning.
Energy Audits An ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit must be performed on the base building systems of a covered building prior to filing an EER that follows ASHRAE Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits – ASHRAE 211-2018. The audit report’s Table of Contents must have all sections provided in the Level II energy audit report outline and should be uploaded online via the Energy Audit template tool.
Retro-Commissioning Major equipment, sub-equipment and components need to be assessed in accordance with the NEBB standard S120-2016 and/or any subsequent edition. This includes evaluation of the following:
- HVAC and service water equipment
- HVAC and service water distribution
- Lighting Systems
- Envelope
- Training and Documentation These assessments must clearly lay out the retro-commissioning process, testing protocols, a master list of findings, deficiencies corrected and strict photo documentation of deficiencies.
How will this impact my current testing protocols and facility requirements?
The LL87 amendments are intended to standardize functional performance testing protocols, clarify current facility requirements and simplify sampling requirements. As such, moving forward, the following Current Facility Requirements (CFR) will be mandatory unless a facility can justify otherwise from acceptable references.
- Temperature set points – Must maintain a temperature for winter indoor space: 68-76°F, and for Summer indoor space: 72-80°F
- Operating system pressure – Must be no greater than four psig
- Domestic hot water delivery temperature – Must be in accordance with HMC for Group R occupancies and per New York Plumbing Code for all other occupancies
- Ventilation – Must be in accordance with New York City Mechanical Code
- Lighting Levels – Must be in accordance with the BC and HMC for all egress lighting
If necessary, can an owner apply for a reporting extension?
Yes, an owner can apply for an extension for the EER, but the application must be on a form provided by the department and be filled out by December 31 of the year when the report is due. If a building is facing financial hardship, an owner can apply for an extension. The application must be on a form provided by the department and be filed by December 31 of every subsequent year for which an extension is requested.
How can Veritas help me?
At Veritas, our goal to provide our customers with the necessary guidance and support needed to achieve compliance and avoid a headache. Given the breadth of changes in the amended law, it is crucial to select a consultant that fully understands them. Following the old procedures will be costly in both money and time.
For more information on how our services could help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Send us an email, info@veritas-sg.com or give us a call at (212) 714-0178. For additional resources, check out NYC Building's information sessions. For more information on how our services could help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Send us an email, info@veritas-sg.com or give us a call at (212) 714-0178.