Which Energy Fix Comes First?

Local Law 97 is turning out to be a nightmare for boards trying to figure out what projects they need to undertake to make their buildings energy-efficient. We’ve heard about a helpful technology called Building Information Modeling (BIM), which sounds intriguing. Can you explain what it is?

With BIM, you are essentially building a structure in the virtual world. You are able to walk through it on all kinds of fronts, from the mechanical to the structural to the architectural, to see if there are any potential problems, and to fix them before putting a shovel in the ground. We realized that with Local Law 97, there are going to be many ways to be in compliance, whether it’s new windows or solar panels or a new heating system. But how do you know if the solutions really work? With BIM, we can actually scan the building that we’re going to do work on, create a digital model and test the potential fixes to see if they will deliver the results that we’re looking for.

Does BIM work for smaller buildings or just for larger ones?

The technology can work anywhere, but mixed-use buildings and larger buildings with complex systems are where you can really deliver efficiency and value. You’re going to have many vendors telling you that by doing this particular add-on or upgrade or tightening-up, you are going to solve all your problems and be fully compliant. With BIM, we can assess all three options. And if all three can get you into compliance, we can take a holistic approach to everything that’s going on in the building and tell you that Option A will cost so much, but you’ll get your money back within a certain amount of years and have all these added benefits that you’re not going to have with Options B or C. For example, switching out your boiler is going to cost $1 million, but with rebates and financing plans, you’ll recoup that in three years, whereas installing solar panels would cost $800,000 but take more years to get your investment back. 

It's sort of a pre-checkup before you decide to spend your money. Is BIM itself expensive?

We start off by doing a free building assessment that tells you what your potential fines are going to be in the next year, five years, whatever the case may be. After that, we offer a plan to monitor the building annually and see where you stand with all local laws, not just 97. The BIM would come in after we design the project and before we get approval from the Department of Buildings. But BIM doesn’t necessarily need to be used. Let’s say, for example, we’re 100% sure that changing the windows will solve your problem because your windows haven’t been touched since 1920. And when BIM is used, it doesn’t need to be expensive. It really is a case-by-case scenario depending on how complicated a model we need to create and how complicated the solution. 

Boards are always looking for the most efficient way to get from Point A to Point B, and with Local Law 97, there are often multiple solutions to compliance. When deciding which one works best, you want to use every tool that’s out there.