Energy disclosure law in New York City: Building energy performance benchmarking progress. Issue 11 (6th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Eunhwa; Lee, Yong-Cheol; Li, Qi
• Is Part Of: Facilities. Volume 36:Issue 11/12(2018)
• Page Start: 571
• Page End: 583
• Publication Date: 2018-08-06
• Subjects: Benchmarking -- Facilities management -- Energy consumption -- Building management -- Sustainable buildings -- Energy disclosure; Facility management -- Periodicals; Plant engineering -- Periodicals; 658.2
• DOI: 10.1108/F-08-2017-0090
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-2772

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: This paper aims to primarily analyzing the state and pattern of current energy benchmarking progress on commercial buildings since the New York City's energy disclosure law, Local Law 84: Benchmarking has been implemented. It then compares the yearly benchmarking progress of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified and non-LEED-certified buildings as well as ENERGY STAR-certified and non-ENERGY STAR-certified. Design/methodology/approach: For thorough analytics, the authors combined and examined four sources of data: New York City Local Law 84: Benchmarking, Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output, US Green Building Council and US Environmental Protection Agency. The data sets were combined using two primary keys: the Borough, Block, Lot (BBL) number and the building address. Four years of energy use intensity values were obtained and normalized by shrinking the range of deviance in weather. Findings: The findings indicate a significant improvement in the benchmarking progress when controlling building size, building type, year of construction or the most recent renovation and the presence of renovation. Interestingly, there is no significant difference in the energy benchmarking progress between LEED- and non-LEED-certified buildings. Possible reasons are explored and discussed. Originality/value: From a methodological perspective, the study benefited from data disclosure as well as open data sources and used secondary data with a relatively large sample size. Many studies in the construction industry are based on the case-study approach, which may affect generalizability and causality of research findings. This unique approach illustrates the potential of secondary data analysis in the industry.