16B — April 28 - May 11, 2017 — 2017 GP-FM Show — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
2017 GP-FM S how
By George Crawford, Green Partners Combining utility funding with LED upgrades
M
any buildings are now focusing on up- grading their light-
LED upgrade. From either perspective, it just makes economic sense to combine a LED upgrade with available utility funding. For buildings located in New York City, LL 88 has been on the books for over 7 years, yet most covered buildings have not upgraded to meet the new lighting requirements . With the re- cent addition of LL 134, the number of buildings required to comply has now more than doubled to include all buildings above 25,000 sf in size (both commercial and
residential). Residential units in multifamily buildings are excluded from these compli- ance requirements. Besides these two Local Laws, there are additional lighting code requirements that extend beyond New York City. Most of these code requirements revolve around fire safety as well as energy conservation, such as bi-level lighting in fire stairs (to fur- ther reduce electric consump- tion). To add to the mix, there are buildings, some unaware, that they have fire safety code deficiencies including
buildings with older battery back-up lighting for stairs and other points of egress. Older batteries are not able to provide the required 90 min- utes of emergency lighting in the event of a power outage and therefore do not meet code. There are also buildings that do not have the required emergency egress lighting. Upgrading offers an excellent opportunity to meet both the new requirements as well as correct existing deficiencies. While a LED retro-fit comes with a price tag, the good news is that a LED retro-fit –
either to achieve compliance with LL 88 and LL 134 or for economic reasons – will more than pay for itself because of the lower levels of electrical consumption. The amount of these savings combined with utility funding will almost always allow the scope of a LED retro-fit project to be expanded to not only achieve compliance, but to include other lighting upgrades as well as address existing de- ficiencies. Before starting on any LED retro-fit project, it is im- portant to understand the funding “rules of the road”. To qualify for Con Ed fund- ing, under no circumstances should any LED retro-fit project start before receiving Con Ed’s “Authorization to Proceed”. Con Ed’s “Authori- zation to Proceed” will follow the submission and approval by Con Ed of the project Funding Application, which will be followed by a Con Ed on-site inspection. This inspection is this first of two inspections: 1) “Before” the project starts, and 2) “After” the project is completed. Con Ed Funding Applica- tions must be completed and submitted on behalf of each building requesting Con Ed funding by a Con Ed Market Partner, who will interface with Con Ed and manage the project in accordance with Con Ed procedures. One of the “under the radar” advan- tages of the Con Ed funding program, besides the actual funding, is the project over- sight that Con Ed provides. Con Ed oversight includes using only Con Ed approved high quality LED Products as well as installation quality control for multifamily build- ings, by requiring installa- tions be performed by Con Ed trained and approved electri- cal contractors. Commercial buildings may select their own electrical contractors, but their installation work is subject to Con Ed inspection and approval. With PSEG funding, the “rules of the road” differ and are based on project size. While there is an application process and the requirement to use approved high qual- ity LED products, the larger PSEG funded projects will generally followCon Ed proce- dures in terms of inspections continued on page 20B
ing to LED. New Yo r k City has en- acted Local Law 88 and Loca l Law 134 wh i ch requires all buildings in NYC above
George Crawford
25,000 sf to upgrade their lighting to LED. Buildings outside of the NYC Local Law jurisdiction are looking at the economic advantages of an
HowWould You Like To Receive LED Energy Savings Like This?
Cost of LED Product Installed - $56,600.00 Annual kWh Savings 78,132 Annual Savings (based on .24 rate) - $18,751.00 Return On Investment - 2.7 years LED Products Carry a 7-10 Year Warranty
LED Product: With recent advancements, the "one for one" lamp replacement - an incandescent A19 lamp replaced by a LED A19 lamp of lower wattage is old news. "The smart move is to utilize the latest LED "engines" such as TerraLUX. The advantages are 1) Less labor and material costs, 2) Faster payback because there will be more energy saved, and 3) A longer useful product life – 70,000 hours with a 7 year warranty. LED Retro-Fit Payback Timelines: If your LED Retro-Fit will include the replacement of both incandescents and fluorescents, the combination of the energy savings and the funding will result in a payback of about two year’s time.
954 Lexington Avenue * Suite 320 * NewYork, NY 10021 For More Information Visit www.GreenPartnersNY.com or Contact George Crawford, Principal at gcrawford@greenpartnersny.com
To Get Your Project Started, Contact Us Today For A FREE LED RETRO-FIT FEASIBILITY STUDY CALL TOLL FREE 800-595-1094
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