4 Ways New York City Building Owners Can Go Green

As the younger generation attempts to assist clean up our environment through greener efforts, sustainability in the United States is growing in popularity every year. Even major cities nowadays are making every effort to combat climate change.

For instance, New York City’s Local Law 97 plan (LL97) went into force in 2019. It mandates that most structures larger than 25,000 square feet must comply with new energy-efficiency requirements and gas emission reductions by 2024. This regulation has the greatest impact on NYC’s condominiums and other co-ops. Thus the owners of these kinds of buildings must find out how to modify and adapt their standard operating procedures in order to comply with the new rules.

We’ll go through some of the finest ways owners can follow this regulation by becoming green in the sections below.

Make Use of Solar Power:

An excellent approach to support energy conservation is through solar electricity. In fact, utilizing solar energy in any way may have an impact on the environment, whether it be a simple modification like putting solar-powered lights around the house or a major undertaking like installing solar panels. The LL97’s primary objective is to cut emissions from the biggest buildings in the city by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

A typical multifamily rental building uses around 60% less power than a condo or co-op, according to some research, in New York City. LL97 helps to address problems like this. Going solar might lower the amount of greenhouse gas emissions created by each kilowatt-hour of solar energy produced by these structures.

Use Smart Home Technology:

In the United States, energy waste is a concern, particularly in major cities like New York City. This is due to the fact that many building owners are unaware of the negative environmental impacts of operating their electrical, air conditioning, and heating systems continuously. A/C and heating systems, for instance, utilize so much power that they significantly contribute to global warming. According to some estimates, air conditioning and heating systems will account for around 25% of the cause of global warming by the year 2050.

Residents and employees, especially in a condo or co-op, frequently forget to turn off a light when they leave a room. Even while it might not seem like much now, this will eventually result in a greater problem. One possible fix for this is to put smart home technologies in each condo or co-op unit. Making use of this technology has a number of advantages. There would be no need to remember to switch off the lights, faucets, or heat, which keeps you and the building under control. The installation of various forms of smart home technologies can also help you conserve energy. In actuality, smart houses with technology may save energy use by up to 45%.

With Smart Technology, The Following Can Happen in Large Buildings:

-Smart thermostats may help each room use up to 20% less energy. -Automatic lighting can save energy usage by up to 45%.
-Automatic faucets can save 700 gallons of water annually.

Start Recycling

Recycling, despite what some people may believe, has a significant positive impact on the environment, especially in large places like New York City where garbage is a concern. Building owners lose a lot of money every year as a result of frequent material waste and replacement, in addition to creating the misleading impression that New York is a “filthy” city. However, recycling would enable owners to cut costs and abide by the new regulation.

Additionally, recycling is a relatively simple process to adopt in buildings. Building owners would only need to provide recycling bins in clearly accessible locations throughout the facility. Along with bins for certain metals, plastics, and glasses, they could also feature bins for paper or cardboard boxes. Owners and boards have a responsibility to educate the community on the value of recycling. To help promote better recycling, they could even provide incentives or awards.

Conserve Water

In the US, water waste has long been a problem. Every year, homes, companies, and other structures misuse millions of tons of water. Approximately 5% of the nation’s total carbon emissions are attributable to water use for household or commercial purposes. Water waste exacerbates the problem in New York City. New York City utilizes 1 billion gallons of water on average per day.

Installing automated faucets in every unit can aid in water conservation because they turn off when not in use. Alternatively, they might politely request that homeowners turn off the faucets when not in use in order to raise awareness. ‘

Conclusions

Even if these methods fall short of satisfying Local Law 97’s standards entirely, they provide a surefire way for buildings to become more sustainable and advance in an easy and affordable way toward achieving the law’s objectives.