Passive House at 174 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY; credit: Loadingdock5

What mixture of building systems will deliver a truly “sustainable” high rise? We’re not aware of anyone who knows the answer yet (if you do, please call). And if we don’t know where we are ultimately aiming, we may not be making the right investments now. For instance, we worry about how in the last ten years the energy performance of mechanical systems has improved while that of envelopes has generally declined (see NYC Green Codes Task Force recommendation EF3 Limit Heat Loss Through Exterior Walls).

In contrast, we are in far better shape when it comes to low-rise construction, thanks to Passive House. The standard has proven that we can achieve enormous energy reductions in homes through a combination of a well-insulated and air-sealed envelope, heat recovery ventilation, and smart use of the sun. Compared with conventional U.S. homes, Passive House is thought to reduce energy for heating and cooling by 90% and overall usage by 75%; for Energy Star, it’s a 30% overall energy reduction. This is why we wholeheartedly embrace the Passive House standard and see it as a lighthouse for where small-scale construction needs to go.

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When looking for innovative ways to challenge the status quo on green development and construction practices I expect to encounter challenges.  Cost –both real and perceived- is usually first among them. But even I was surprised when the chief impediment to trialing a Green Codes Task Force proposal turned out to be a longstanding industry concern about petty theft on the job site.

“Charlotte, it’s just like I said would happen.  We began installing the CFL temp lights this week and 50 have already been stolen.”

My heart sank.  I couldn’t believe it.  –“You’re saying, in the span of a week, 50 lamps have been unscrewed and sneaked off the job in bags and coat pockets?”

“Not exactly.  Two unpacked boxes of 25.”

What the electrical contractor had told me would happen is that the CFL’s (compact fluorescent lamps) would walk from the job, lamp by lamp, like Post-Its from the office supply cabinet.  One or two, here or there, by individuals who didn’t appreciate how small numbers add up.

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Common Ground is a pioneer in the development of supportive housing and other research-based practices that end homelessness. Common Ground’s network of well designed, affordable apartments — linked to the services people need to maintain their housing, restore their health, and regain their economic independence — has enabled more than 4,000 individuals to overcome homelessness.

Municipal building codes were established based on the belief that a baseline of public health and safety must be met in each community. When a crisis strikes that highlights inadequacies of the built environment, our building codes have responded: London’s Great Plague of 1665 created density requirements; the Chicago Fire of 1871 intensified fire prevention; and natural disasters such as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 tightened requirements in specific geographic areas.

As a global society, we now face international climate change, rising fuel costs, and rising health care costs. The built environments that we create have the ability to respond to these very real problems. The debate on whether or not a “green” building code should be adopted can be framed by weighing the economic and social costs of greening or not greening our building standards.

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If you’ve been following the progress of the Green Codes Task Force, you’ll know that 16 recommendations we made a year ago have been enacted into law by the City Council. To reveal the process of how these first recommendations were selected, translated into legislation, and eventually passed, I thought I’d take you through the journey of one: Local Law 57/2010.  Or as entitled by the Task Force: Water Efficiency #1, Enhance Water Efficiency Standards.

In 2010, 452 bills were “introduced” at the City Council. Just 65 bills, or 14% of them, became law that year.  11 of those were Task Force recommendations, including Local Law 57.

Local Law 57 raises the minimum water efficiency standards of plumbing fixtures sold in New York City. As a result of the law, we estimate that within 10 years the city will begin saving 61 billion gallons of water a year, and 80 billion gallons a year within 20 years.

How does one bill out of more than 400 get selected?
Someone who can influence the City Council’s agenda needs to decide it’s a priority. Ultimately that means the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the chair of the City Council committee that‘s required to pass the legislation, but Mayor Bloomberg, other Council Members, and the senior staff members of these politicians also influence the legislative agenda.

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Credit: Pro Europa

It would seem that I owe Frank Gehry an apology or, since it is unlikely that Mr. Gehry is aware of my existence, that I at least owe our readers a follow up to my post last year in which I condemned certain aspects of his work.  You may recall that Gehry was quoted last year in Business Week, disparaging both the cost and effectiveness of LEED.  I had a pretty strong reaction to this, and I wasn’t the only one.  More recently Gehry tempered his stance on LEED in an interview with PBS. It’s worth reading the whole thing but he basically says that he would prefer increasing the thresholds of codes rather than legislating the point-based system of LEED.  It’s a fair point, though I would argue we need voluntary standards like LEED or the Living Building Challenge to demonstrate what is possible before we can begin to mandate individual elements within codes.  In any case, what caught my eye in this interview was his reference to his Novartis building in Switzerland.  He is quoted as follows:

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Kate Galbraith has a good piece on the rising visibility and importance of energy codes around the country.  In addition to the increased focus on basic energy codes there are some more progressive initiatives in this arena like ASHRAE’s “net zero by 2030″ commitment for new buildings; their development of Standard 189, a “High Performance Building” code modeled roughly on LEED; and the development by ICC of their International Green Construction Code.  And there are a host of state and municipal initiatives like CalGreen and our own NYC Green Codes Task Force that are raising the bar on energy use and other environmental issues.

Galbraith is right to note how far ahead Europe is in this arena. Her article notes that some States have argued against having ANY ENERGY CODE whatsoever, meanwhile places like Ireland are mandating carbon neutral buildings by 2013.

Coming on the heels of five NYC Green Codes Task Force laws enacted two weeks ago, this afternoon the City Council passed another package of four laws that will improve water efficiency and increase the availability of drinking water. To date, 16 Task Force recommendations have now been implemented.

After all the crazy storms of late, it can be hard for New Yorkers to remember the importance of water conservation. Although recent years have brought plenty of rainfall, New York City has faced seven droughts in the last 45 years. In addition, in approximately 2017 we will face a supply crunch when the city shuts down the Delaware Aqueduct to fix leaks. At that time, we will either need to reduce demand by 20% or find other sources (not now apparent) to ensure sufficient water supply. The laws passed today will reduce demand and ease the impact of future droughts and the anticipated 2017 shutdown.

Introduction 271 (Task Force proposal Water Efficiency 1) implements the primary water efficiency recommendation of the NYC Green Codes Task Force, increasing efficiency standards and requiring EPA’s WaterSense labels for plumbing fixtures starting July 1, 2012. The law will have a major impact over time. It will not require people to install the more efficient fixtures until they choose to make improvements to their bathrooms or kitchens, but we still estimate that 10 years after implementation, this law will save 61 billion gallons of water per year. After 20 years, consumption will be reduced by 80 billion gallons per year.

Introductions 268 and 263 (Task Force proposals Water Efficiency 3 and Water Efficiency 6, respectively) will reduce two types of large-scale water waste. Intro 268 will reduce leaks and waste from major equipment. Beginning in July 2011, new rooftop water tanks will need to include a high-water level alarm, which will alert building owners to overflow and wasteful operation of the filling controls. Also, submeters will be required for new cooling towers, boilers, most swimming pools, commercial kitchens, laundries, and gyms or spas. These submeters will help building managers detect leaks and malfunctions that now often escape notice for days or weeks.

Introduction 263 prohibits new installation of once-through cooling systems starting in 2011. These systems work by emitting their waste heat into potable water, which is then drained directly into the sewer system. Each ton of cooling in a once-through system uses 150,000 to 200,000 gallons of city water per year (at a cost $1,500-$2,000 in water bills). These once-through systems actually make no sense economically, since the water costs far more than the modest capital cost increment for a standard system that releases the waste heat to the air. However, to avoid excessive equipment costs in some constrained retrofit situations, replacement of existing installations is exempted as long as the replacement system does not use more water than the existing one.

Finally, Introduction 264 (Task Force proposal Health & Toxicity 20) improves access to drinking water. The law, which goes into effect July 2012, removes an existing code provision that permits bottled water vending machines to substitute for half the required drinking fountains in public assembly areas. It also requires new drinking fountains to include faucets for filling water bottles, and allows half the required fountains to be replaced by dedicated faucets for filling bottles.

These bills may never have been proposed were it not for the creativity and hard work of the Water and Building Stormwater Committee of the NYC Green Codes Task Force, including their input during the legislative process. Once again, we commend their efforts.

This afternoon, the New York City Council enacted five laws implementing recommendations from the NYC Green Codes Task Force, bringing the total number implemented to 12.

Introduction 267-A (Task Force proposal Overarching Code Issues 1), sponsored by Council Member Jim Gennaro, marks a pivotal shift in the focus of New York City’s construction codes. Until today, the purpose of these codes was to promote “public safety, health and welfare”; now “the environment” has been added to this list. This important addition lays the foundation for greening the construction codes and underscores the critical role the Department of Buildings will play moving forward.

The four other bills improve the energy efficiency of lighting across the city, largely by replacing outdated standards in current codes and making way for new technologies. Congratulations to the Council Members who sponsored these bills, Council Member Erik Dilan (Chair, Committee on Housing and Buildings), and Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert Limandri and his staff. Thanks also to Laura Popa, Jeff Haberman, and Baaba Halm at the City Council and Laurie Kerr and Hilary Beber in the Mayor’s Office.

These bills may never have been proposed were it not for the creativity and hard work of the Lighting & Daylighting Committee and Construction Practices Committee of the NYC Green Codes Task Force, including their input during the legislative process.

Here are details on the lighting efficiency bills:

Int. 262 (Task Force proposal Energy Efficiency 15), sponsored by Council Member Fernando Cabrera, reduces unnecessary artificial lighting in lobbies, hallways, and means of egress. Currently, the building code requires that exits and public corridors be illuminated at all times by electric lighting. This bill will count daylight towards lighting levels, and permit the use of occupant sensors and photosensors in means of egress. Minimum illumination in means of egress is also reduced, with some exceptions, from 2 foot candles to 1 foot candle, in keeping with national standards.

Int. 266 (Task Force proposal Energy Efficiency 13), sponsored by Council Member Daniel Garodnick, replaces existing requirements in the Energy Code for occupancy sensors in various rooms in commercial buildings, with a requirement for “vacancy sensors.” These sensors shut off automatically, but only turn on when manually activated – this avoids light going on unnecessarily when a person enters a room only briefly. The bill also adds a requirement that small offices (less than 200 square feet) be equipped with either vacancy sensors or photosensors.

The other two bills replace outdated standards for lighting in common areas of apartment buildings (Int. 277A, Task Force proposal Energy Efficiency 7) and temporary construction walkways and sheds (Int. 273, Task Force proposal Energy Efficiency 16). Until today’s change, apartment buildings and temporary construction lighting were required to provide lighting levels based on incandescent light bulbs of specified wattage. Both bills replace the old standards with minimum foot-candle requirements, a measurement of illumination rather than power consumption (watts).

Both bills also permit the use of photosensors to reduce lighting levels in response to daylight. Int. 273, sponsored by Council Member Stephen Levin, also allows the use of photosensors in walkways and sidewalk sheds. (Unlike the original Task Force proposal, this bill does not change other aspects of lighting on construction sites.) Int. 277-A, sponsored by Council Member Eric Ulrich, allows the use of photosensors in public halls and stairs, and the use of occupant sensors or photosensors in various common areas that are not means of egress (subject to certain safety requirements).

Read the NYC Green Codes Task Force Report.

In late March, the offices of Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn reconvened the Industry Advisory Committee of the NYC Green Codes Task Force to review each proposal of the report. In parallel, the Mayor’s Office initiated detailed discussions on the relevant recommendations with all affected city agencies.  This afternoon, nine bills were introduced at the City Council, representing the first fruits of this review and analysis. The Committee on Housing & Building will hold a first hearing on the bills on June 22.

As with all bills, those introduced today will undergo further amendment during the legislative process as additional stakeholders suggest changes.  It should be noted that these bills have been vetted by representatives of real estate, affordable housing, environmental organizations, and others, and already incorporate tremendous feedback.

As we readily acknowledged in February, completing the Task Force report was a major milestone but it was also just a first step in the long road towards legislation and rulemaking.  We knew the proposals would require refinement and further input from stakeholders.  That is true of the 9 bills introduced today, which are the first group reviewed by the offices of the Speaker and Mayor during this post-release process.  They primarily concern water efficiency and lighting energy efficiency.

With minor exception, we strongly support all changes that have been made to the proposals and incorporated into the bills.  The core goals of the proposals remain intact and the feedback received over the last months was constructive and nuanced, leading to stronger policies.  We are particularly pleased to see OC 1: Add Environmental Protection as a Fundamental Principal of Construction Codes in this first group as it represents the philosophical underpinning of the entire Codes Task Force effort.  Click here for an overview of the nine bills from this week and one bill from March and how they compare with the Task Force proposal on which they were based.

Other lighting and water efficiency proposals not included in this group require further study and refinement. We anticipate bills on some of the other proposals will be introduced later this year.  It is worth emphasizing for those not familiar with the legislative process that the 5-month turn around time from release of the Task Force report to the introduction of vetted bills is impressively fast.  We couldn’t be more pleased with the progress thus far.

I hope our members will closely follow the progress of these and other Task Force-related bills, contact your Council Members to express your support, and attend hearings on those of particular interest to you.

Lots of changes afoot at the NYC DOB.  As you are no doubt aware, in December the City Council passed what is colloquially known as the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan which included, among other things, the New York City Energy Conservation Code- a new energy code specifically for the city, rather than remain beholden to the state energy code.  Alongside the new city energy code the NYC DOB has proposed a new set of energy code compliance rules that should ensure more effective implementation of the new standards.  The proposed compliance rules include a host of progress inspections on everything from foundation insulation, to window U-values, to air infiltration rates through the building envelope.  The code itself includes myriad reporting requirements from energy modeling to detailed calculations in your application drawings.  The rules are significant.  If you are a building professional you had better get familiar with them and we encourage you to review the proposed rules and let the DOB know what you think of them at the public hearing on the 18th.   The rules can be downloaded here.  The public hearing is here:

May 18, 2010

10:00 AM

280 Broadway (nr Chambers)

6th Floor Training Room