Benchmarking is a process of measuring the performance of a company’s products, services, or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry, aka “best in class.”

The point of benchmarking is to identify internal opportunities for improvement. By studying companies with superior performance, breaking down what makes such superior performance possible, and comparing those processes to how your business operates, you can implement changes that will yield significant improvements.

Benchmarking is a simple, but detailed, five-step process:

1. Choose a product, service, or internal department to benchmark
2. Determine which best-in-class companies you should benchmark against – which organizations you’ll compare your business to
3. Gather information on their internal performance, or metrics

Benchmarking will point out what changes will make the most difference, but it’s up to you to actually put them in place.

Getting an energy audit is an important starting point for optimizing the building’s energy and financial performance. Audits, also called assessments, provide a record of your asset infrastructure, energy usage, and energy costs. Conducting a building audit gives you a measuring stick of how your facility and its assets are performing today and where work can be done to make it more efficient moving forward. There are several levels of energy audits offered, and sometimes understanding the difference between ASHRAE Level 1, 2, and 3 audits can be confusing. This is a guide to help you determine which one is the best fit for your building.

First, let’s start with a high-level understanding of the purpose of ASHRAE audits. Energy audits identify and develop building and system modifications that will reduce the energy use and/or cost of operating the facility. An energy audit includes the following steps:

• Collect and analyze historical energy use
• Study the building and its operation characteristics
• Identify potential modifications that will reduce the energy use and/or cost
• Perform an engineering and economic analysis of potential modifications
• Create a rank-ordered list of appropriate modifications
• Prepare a report to document the analysis process and results

Commissioning is the process of planning, documenting, scheduling, testing, adjusting, verifying, and training, to provide a facility that operates as a fully functional system per the Owner’s Project Requirements. The goal of the Commissioning Process is to enhance the quality of the delivered project by focusing the design and construction team on the Owner’s goals for a functional and energy efficient building. The earlier a Commissioning Provider is involved in the project process the greater the chance there is for the Commissioning Provider to influence corrections without increased costs later.

Demand for commissioning services is increasing as the design and construction communities require that projects are delivered completely functional, on time, at low cost, and constructed to run in a highly efficient manner. Also, LEED Certification is becoming increasingly popular and mandated by some jurisdictions. The Commissioning process is a requirement of LEED Certified projects. The Commissioning Process helps to achieve all of these goals through review of design documents and construction installation. A third party provider, independent of the design and construction teams, can oversee the quality delivery of the project and provide the Owner with an advocate that will serve the project through completion.

Retro-Commissioning: the process of increasing cost savings and improving energy savings for a building that may have not been properly commissioned from the start

• Ideal for: Buildings that have been in existence the longest and are facing commissioning issues and buildings that were never properly commissioned at the start
• Often times this can be hospitals or schools and similar commercial and industrial buildings that have longer lifespans.

Recommissioning: the process of commissioning that takes place after a building has become operational, but has a need for further or additional system solutions.

• Ideal for: Underperforming facilities including operational buildings that need smaller repairs, replacements, and resets
• The building owner may not realize what their facility needs until after the building has been operational for some time. Recommissioning is ideal for buildings that have begun to ‘wear’ or for owners who are looking for ‘green’ energy solutions for their pre-existing mechanical systems

Energy Code Compliance

Implementation of energy codes is generally carried out by state and local agencies that are responsible for code compliance, enforcement, and training. These activities ensure that new construction meets the required level of efficiency. Agencies in different cities pursue varying methods of implementation and different levels of enforcement activity.

This sub-category includes information on three topics related to local code implementation: Jurisdiction spending on building code compliance in comparison to residential construction spending; use of alternative code compliance strategies, such as third-party plan review or performance testing; and availability of upfront technical support to owners/developers on energy code compliance at the design and permitting stages.

Energy codes and standards set minimum efficiency requirements for new and renovated buildings, assuring reductions in energy use and emissions over the life of the building. Energy codes are a subset of building codes, which establish baseline requirements and govern building construction.

Energy Modeling (BEM) sub-program is an important part of BTO and its Emerging Technologies Program. BEM is a versatile, multipurpose tool that is used in new building and retrofit design, code compliance, green certification, qualification for tax credits and utility incentives, and even real-time building control.

Energy-modeling is the virtual or computerized simulation of a building or complex that focuses on energy consumption, utility bills and life cycle costs of various energy related items such as air conditioning, lights and hot water. It is also used to evaluate the payback of green energy solutions like solar panels and photovoltaics, wind turbines and high efficiency appliances. 

Energy-Analysis or Energy-modeling is used to:

• Predict the monthly energy consumption and bills
• Predict the annual energy cost
• Annual CO2 emmissions
• Compare and contrast different efficiency options
• Determine life cycle payback on various options

NYC has passed several laws to significantly cut carbon emissions from buildings and improve the quality of life and health of our communities. These laws require building owners to measure, report on, and reduce their building’s energy use and carbon emissions.  

NYC Accelerator is here to help. Our team of experts can walk you through what laws apply to your building and help you develop a plan to reduce emissions, lower operating costs, and avoid future penalties.

Local Law 87 is both a useful and onerous requirement for NYC owners and managers. The process helps to identify energy savings, but the costs of compliance can be significant. ReDocs is better than anyone at closing the gap between the problems and the benefits that this law creates.

With Local Law 97, New York City has one of the most ambitious plans for reducing emissions from buildings in the nation. As a part of New York City Green New Deal, the law was included in the Climate Mobilisation act passed by the City Council in April 2019.

Electrification refers to the process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) with technologies that use electricity as a source of energy. Depending on the resources used to generate electricity, electrification can potentially reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the transportation, building, and industrial sectors, which account for 65 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing emissions from these sectors is critical to decarbonizing the economy and, ultimately, mitigating the impacts of climate change. This explainer reviews how electrification can reduce emissions; possibilities and potential challenges of electrification in the transportation, building, and industrial sectors; and policy options for encouraging electrification.

The Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap focuses on five of the highest CO2-emitting industries where industrial decarbonization technologies can have the greatest impact across the nation: petroleum refining, chemicals, iron and steel, cement, and food and beverage. These industries represent approximately 51% of energy-related CO2 emissions in the U.S. industrial sector and 15% of U.S. economy-wide total CO2 emissions.

• Chemical manufacturing
• Petroleum refining
• Iron and steel
• Food and beverage
• Cement