Did your building get an A? New letter grade signs rate energy efficiency
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New Yorkers will soon see letter grades on the front of all residential and commercial buildings over 25,000 square feet that indicate how well building owners are addressing energy efficiency.
Posting these signs will become a legal requirement for approximately 40,000 large buildings across the city starting on October 31st. You may of course start to see the A-rated buildings post their signs right away.
Large buildings account for nearly a third of NYC's greenhouse emissions, according to a report on energy and water use in the city.
“We must take action to meet the challenge of climate change,” says Melanie E. La Rocca, buildings commissioner. “Our new energy efficiency letter grade signs will provide a new level of transparency for building energy emissions. The public has a right to know which large buildings are taking their commitment to sustainability seriously.”
Grades are calculated using data from the properties and must be placed at every public entrance of the building.
The NYC Benchmarking Law requires owners of large buildings to annually measure their energy and water consumption and submit the usage data to the city by May 1st of every year.
According to the DOB website, increasing transparency about a building’s annual energy and water usage is the first step for building owners and tenants in making their buildings operate more efficiently.
You can search the energy efficiency grade of specific buildings by address by using the DOB NOW Public Portal.
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