Tag: benchmarking
February 24, 2016
January Forum Recap: Sustainability Trends from the Green Catwalk
by Megan Nordgrén Sustainability trends are constantly evolving and at GreenHomeNYC’s annual Green Catwalk, a number of hot topics were placed center stage as seven speakers discussed issues like carbon assets, solar technology, sustainable modular housing, green financing and benchmarking. Carbon Offsets in the Building Industry
August 19, 2013
The Green Spotlight on BE NYC: Dan Rieber
Countdown to BE NYC! With only
November 15, 2010
NY State Releases Climate Action Plan, Public Comment Period Open
Early this month, outgoing Governor Paterson released the New York State Climate Action Plan. This plan moves forward on the 2009 Executive Order requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050 and established a Climate Action Council to determine how to meet the goal. The Council will continue to further refine these strategy proposals in 2011. The public can comment on the plan until February 7, 2011.
June 15, 2009
Green Building Bills Hearing: Friday, June 26
This hearing has been moved to Friday June 26 at 10 AM. On Earth Day 2009, the City announced a package of four bills mandating energy efficiency upgrades for a large percentage of the city’s structures. The New York City Council is holding a hearing on these bills on Friday, June 19 at 10am. These are important bills – both in their scope and content. We encourage you to read up on the proposals, and if you have an opinion, go to the hearing, participate, and testify. Public input absolutely impacts the final form of these bills, and the committee stage is where the major revisions will take place. A more thorough description of the bills is below, but in short, this legislation would: Create a New York City Energy Code that existing buildings will have to meet whenever they undergo renovations; Require buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to conduct an energy audit once every ten years and make any improvements that pay for themselves within five years; Require commercial buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to upgrade their lighting to more energy-efficient systems that pay for themselves through energy savings; Require buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to make an annual benchmark analysis of energy consumption so building owners can better understand what steps they can take to increase efficiency City officials argue that these requirements will ultimately generate 2,000 new jobs in energy auditing and related fields, temporary construction jobs, and save property owners roughly $750 million annually in energy costs. Beginning in 2013, the 22,000 buildings of over 50,000 square feet in the city will be impacted – nearly half of the built square footage of the City. Public hearings are just that, open to the public. The Environmental Protection Committee meets Friday, June 19, at 10:00 AM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Here are the directions. Generally, a panel of industry leaders and organizations will testify on the legislation to the committee first. Then members of the public simply sign up to testify – first come, first serve. It is a simple process. The committee is chaired by Councilmember James F. Gennaro (Queens), and the committee members are Councilmembers Bill de Blasio, Elizabeth Crowley, Mathieu Eugene, Oliver Koppell, Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., Erik Ulrich, Peter F. Vallone, Jr., and Thomas White, Jr. You can read the City’s Earth Day press release, or look at further analysis, including who is supporting the package and who is not, from the Sallan Foundation, the New York Times, the Gotham Gazette, CoStar, and Business Green. A more detailed summary of each bill, along with a link to the original text from which the summary was sourced, after the jump! (more…)September 1, 2008
Understanding What You Use Helps to Conserve
Since 2004, GreenHomeNYC has presented monthly articles on green building construction, renovations, and management in The Cooperator, a Yale Robbins newspaper serving 3,300 New York City cooperatives and condominiums.
Understanding What You Use Helps to Conserve Reviewing Your Con Ed Bill By Sharon Brind With the constant rise in energy costs, the use of “peak generating plants” and increased individual energy consumption, we are seeing a direct impact on our monthly electricity bill. According to Con Ed, July 2008 set a new record of 6.7 billion kilowatt hours, or approximately 350 kWh hours per customer. Going forward it will cost more and more to light, heat, cool, and live in our homes. What can we do to lower our bill, become more energy efficient in our homes and essentially become more “green”? Read on at The CooperatorJune 1, 2008
Tracking Building Energy Usage
Since 2004, GreenHomeNYC has presented monthly articles on green building construction, renovations, and management in The Cooperator, a Yale Robbins newspaper serving 3,300 New York City cooperatives and condominiums.
Tracking Building Energy Usage Energy by the Foot By Aaron Yowell Recent studies of energy usage in multifamily buildings have revealed that the least efficient buildings use up to seven times the energy of the most efficient—even when those buildings are otherwise similar. It should surprise few readers to hear that a large number of buildings waste significant amounts of energy. In these days of high-profile environmental initiatives by Hollywood stars, mainstream hybrid cars and “green” lifestyle television programming, environmental awareness is at an all-time high. Read on at The Cooperator