New York City Energy Conservation Code Expands Energy Regulation to All Construction   by Stephen Winkles

in Real Estate / Construction    (submitted 2010-12-07)

On December 9, 2009, the New York City Council enacted green retrofit legislation. The new laws will affect owners of buildings over 50,000 square feet in the New York metropolitan area. For those owners, the "Greener, Greater Buildings Plan" means more stringent energy code standards, mandatory energy and water use audits, and required energy efficiency retrofits. What is surprising about the legislation is just how far and wide reaching it is. This article explains the purpose and effect of the law, to whom it applies, and why owners and contractors should pay attention.

The New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) is applicable to all building types in New York City except State or National Register of Historic Places designations or Landmarks Preservation Commission designations. Prior to the enactment of the NYCECC, renovations of less than 50% of a building system or subsystem were exempt from energy efficiency requirements. That exception is no longer in effect. The NYCECC now applies not only to new construction, but also applies to all additions, alterations, renovations, and repairs. If a building is only performing alterations on portions of the building, the sections of the building not being altered do not need to be upgraded to meet the NYCECC. Note that even small renovations must meet the energy code.
 
The NYCECC becomes effective on July 1, 2010. All buildings that submit building approval plans to the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) on or after July 1, 2010 will be subject to the NYCECC. After that date, applications for building permits must comply with the NYCECC. The documentation required to obtain building approval is as follows: a certification by a design professional, an energy analysis, and data supporting conformance to the energy analysis. All components important to energy efficiency must be part of submitted plans.

With these new laws comes added expense, and building owners may find themselves hiring additional consultants to assist them in ensuring that the construction plans comply with the NYCECC's new requirements. Any owner performing construction work in NYC after July 1, 2010 should ensure that its architect, contractors and other consultants have a full working knowledge of every aspect of the NYCECC, and that the building plans are in full compliance with the new law.

About the Author

Mr. Winkles has broad experience representing owners, construction managers, general contractors and trade contractors in all stages of the construction process. This experience includes familiarity with contract negotiation and drafting, contract administration, construction litigation and and dispute resolution. Mr. Winkles has argued appeals on construction and bidding issues in New Jersey and in New York, and has handled litigations in the Federal Courts.