Common NYC Benchmarking Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

 

For businesses and organizations in New York City, benchmarking can be a key strategy to stay on top of current trends and remain competitive.

However, it isn’t always as straightforward as it may seem. Without the right approach, your organization could end up making costly errors or missing out on potential opportunities for improvement.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss common mistakes associated with NYC benchmarking and provide a few tips for avoiding them to better optimize your data analysis efforts.

What Is NYC Energy Benchmarking?

NYC energy benchmarking is a process designed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure, track, and report a building's energy and water consumption.

To comply with NYC energy benchmarking, building owners must use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a benchmarking tool that takes into account energy audit information, utility data, and other factors to calculate an overall ENERGY STAR score for each building.

This score is then used to create NYC's unique Energy Efficiency Rating or Energy Grade system for all buildings, giving New Yorkers a better understanding of how energy efficient their neighborhood buildings are.

Common NYC Benchmarking Mistakes

It’s important for businesses in New York City to understand energy consumption data and the requirements of NYC Energy Benchmarking. Analyzing energy data for multiple buildings is a complex but necessary task. By understanding the process and its nuances, you can ensure that your energy benchmarking is done correctly to avoid any penalties.

Many businesses can make mistakes when it comes to energy benchmarking in NYC. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid:

Not understanding building characteristics:

Buildings can vary significantly in terms of size, building systems, building use, and occupancy level. All of these building characteristics must be taken into account when collecting building energy data. Without understanding these key building features, you may not have an accurate representation of building energy use intensity.

Not collecting the accurate data:

If you are not familiar with building energy systems or building energy use, it is important to consult building owners and building operations staff for assistance in collecting the right data. Ensuring that you have comprehensive energy data is key to calculating energy performance.

Not considering weather conditions:

Weather can impact site energy use intensity. New York City has a wide range of weather conditions, and this should be taken into account when benchmarking energy use. By understanding site-specific weather data, you can adjust for differences in weather and accurately compare energy use across buildings.

Not being aware of the energy benchmarking deadlines:

It is important for property owners to be aware of the deadlines for submitting energy benchmarking data. The City of New York has set specific deadlines for apartment buildings, and failure to meet these deadlines can result in costly fines.

By understanding common energy benchmarking mistakes in NYC, you can ensure that your energy data is accurate and up to date. Proper collection of energy data can help apartment building owners better understand their energy use and identify opportunities to reduce costs and conserve energy. With the right data, apartment building owners can make informed decisions to improve property performance and maximize savings.

NYC Benchmarking Requirements

New York City has set up Energy Benchmarking Requirements for all residential, commercial, large hospitals and government-owned buildings with a total gross floor area of 50,000 square footage. By incorporating this policy into their buildings, owners are provided with the opportunity to compare their energy performance against similar types of structures across the city.

Participating building owners not only benefit from helping protect the environment but can enjoy cost savings from efficient energy use! As well as these benefits, the submitted data helps identify energy waste and lowers emissions while giving a full picture of how much energy is used annually.

To encourage benchmarking efforts even further, NYC rewards building owners for meeting the minimum requirements with incentives and additional awards for going above and beyond in their efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Deadline To Comply With The NYC Benchmarking Law

Complying with the City of New York's Benchmarking guideline is not just an important step, it's an essential part of reducing the city's carbon footprint.

Through this process, property owners and managers have to provide details about their buildings' energy performance, occupancy, space use and hours of operation which then helps them understand the efficiency of their building. Furthermore, benchmarking leads to lower energy costs, as optimizing usage and detecting any inefficiencies can be identified more easily.

Therefore, for those who desire to keep their business running sustainably in NYC, May 1st is a deadline that should not be missed!

How Can You Start Using NYC Benchmarking Law?

In order to begin tracking natural gas use through the NYC Benchmarking Law, building owners must register for a National Grid Program Account. Building owners must do the following steps:

1. Create an account on the NYC website by clicking the “Register Now” button at the bottom of their homepage.

2. After creating an account, you will have to enter information about your property including name, address and the type of building.

3. Upload a copy of your National Grid account statement to the NYC website. This will provide your building’s usage history and other necessary information.

4. After completing the registration process, you will be able to log in and access your property’s energy usage information.

Once you have registered for the NYC Benchmarking Law, you will be able to compare your building’s energy usage with that of similar buildings in your area. This will allow you to identify potential areas for improvement and take steps to reduce your energy consumption.