LL84 and LL88 Expand for Greener, Greater Future

By Andrew J. Pisani

The City Council recently voted unanimously to expand the reach of LL84 and LL88. LL84 covers annual Benchmarking, and LL 88 covers sub-metering and lighting upgrades. Under both, the compliance threshold size for buildings is dropping from 50,000 square feet down to 25,000 square feet.

Both expansions help the Greener, Greater Buildings Local Laws to reach a wider universe. LL84 will now reach an estimated 10,000 smaller buildings. LL88 previously covered only commercial buildings, and this too has changed to include multifamily buildings as well, who will now need to upgrade common area lighting.

Mandated upgrades always bring costs as buildings may need to replace existing lighting systems with more energy efficient ones. Con Ed offers rebate funding for multifamily units, and taken with the energy savings of LED systems, building owners may see breakeven in a matter of years.

Con Ed incentive programs are winding down for the year, but will open very shortly for 2017. The funding amounts for 2017 will begin at the same levels as 2016, but this funding may decrease over the course of the year.

LED installations yield immediate results with respect to energy savings. The best first step is always getting the facts on your specific scenario, and for this we recommend speaking with our friends at Green Partners. George Crawford can help you navigate through any questions.