What is NYC Local Law 84?
NYC Local Law 84 is New York City's benchmarking law. It requires owners of large buildings to measure and report their annual energy and water use through the EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager each year. The results are published, and the data underpins the city's energy grades and its emissions law, Local Law 97.
What it is
Local Law 84 was part of the city's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan. It requires owners of covered buildings to enter a full year of whole building energy and water consumption into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and submit it to the city.
The city publishes the results, which allows buildings to be compared and makes performance visible to tenants and buyers. The data also feeds the letter grades that buildings must post and the emissions limits under Local Law 97.
The annual filing deadline is May 1, covering the previous calendar year. Check the city's current guidance for any extension or change.
Who it applies to
Owners of covered privately owned buildings above the size threshold, and city-owned buildings, in New York City. The covered buildings list is published each year.
How it is measured
Benchmarking uses a full calendar year of whole building data.
- Energy use by fuel for the whole building
- Water use, where whole building water data is available
- Gross floor area and property use details
- Portfolio Manager outputs such as EUI and ENERGY STAR score
How Aqueduct helps
Aqueduct exports metered energy and water to Portfolio Manager, so the filing rests on meters, not bills gathered at the deadline.
- Metered energy and water per building, refreshed every 60 seconds
- aQ EnergySmart weather-normalized trends to see the year's result coming
- Faults and leaks found and fixed during the year, not after the filing
- aQ Assurance exports for the owner's benchmarking submission