RETROFITTING DAYLIGHT CONTROLS IN NYC OFFICE BUILDINGS DECEMBER 2012 Let There Be Daylight 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The very large commercial office IGHT market of New York City is on the L brink of upheaval. Recent legislation HERE DAY BE and more stringent codes are forcing a T long ignored but critical energy user, LET office lighting, to center stage. As the lighting of the world’s financial center is replaced and retuned to meet cur- rent codes, it is critical that we do not miss an additional and significant opportunity: the deployment of ad- vanced daylighting controls across our office landscape. Our analysis indicates that at least 114 million square feet of New York City office space can easily accommo- date the retrofit of comprehensive, advanced daylighting controls and that these retrofits could result in electric peak demand reduction of as much as 160 megawatts, and 340 greenlightny.org EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electric- ity savings. We estimate this would result in financial savings of over $70 NYC OfficeBuildings million annually for New York City Retrofitting Daylight Controls in building owners and tenants. This report advocates for advanced daylighting systems to become a standard feature of New York City office spaces. We describe the poten- tial energy and financial benefits, outline the challenges faced and the steps required to surmount them. greenlightny.org IGHT L HERE DAY BE T LET 4 greenlightny.org PHOTO: Michel Denancé EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 THE OPPORTUNITY Introduction 8 10 New York City’s Office Market 12 Energy Savings Potential 17 NYC OfficeBuildings Technical Potential 19 Retrofitting Daylight Controls in Economic Potential Collaboration with Others 19 Summary 20 CHALLENGES Complicated Systems 24 Expensive Components 26 THE PATH FORWARD Proof of Concept 30 Financial Incentives 30 Training 31 A Phased Approach 32 CONCLUSION 34 End Notes 36 Appendix 37 NEW YORK TIMES CAFETERIA Properly managed daylighting provides the highest quality indoor environment greenlightny.org greenlightny.org PHOTO: SimonPix (Flickr) LET THERE BE DAYLIGHT THE OPPORTUNITY 7 The density of New York City office space, with a relatively small group controlling a large majority of that Office Buildings Buildings Office NYC space, combined with a regulatory Retrofitting Daylight Controls in mandate to retrofit the lighting in that space, creates a unique oppor- tunity to transform the market for optimal lighting control packages. The scale of the New York City oppor- tunity, with all large, non-residential buildings required to retrofit their lighting by 2025, is an opportunity to drive substantial demand of dim- mable ballasts and improved controls. greenlightny.org 8 THE OPPORTUNITY Introduction electric lights are turned on and reducing the energy that lights consume when they are in use. IGHT Lighting New York City’s office L The current energy code improves buildings consumes a tremendous lighting requirements significantly rela- amount of energy — more than tive to previous iterations. Requirements any other electrical end use — include reductions in connected load, accounting for nearly one third controls for specific spaces and zones, as HERE DAY BE T of Con Edison’s commercial sector well as occupancy/vacancy sensors and electricity delivery.1 other auto-shutoffs. The vast majority of LET projects will endeavor to reach code com- In late 2009 New York City passed a suite pliance and, although it is not the specific of laws called the “Greener, Greater Build- subject of this study, a significant educa- ings Plan,” as part of a host of measures tion effort will be required to ensure that intended to reduce energy demand and the real estate community in general, and greenhouse gas emissions. One of these the design and construction community laws created a New York City Energy Con- in particular, are able to rise to this new servation Construction Code (Local Law 1 challenge. of 2011) – eliminating a previous loophole that exempted lighting upgrades (and NYC COMMERCIAL BUILDING other work) from meeting current stan- ELECTRICITY USAGE dards. Another key law, the Lighting & Submetering law (Local Law 88 of 2009), requires large non-residential buildings to upgrade their lighting systems by 2025 to meet the current NYC Energy Conserva- tion Construction Code in place at the time of the upgrade. The lighting upgrade requirement is estimated to affect 1.25 Billion SF of space and represents a singular opportu- nity to drive substantial energy savings, including peak demand reductions. The lighting industry has seen unprecedented innovations over the last 25 years, includ- ing multiple new technologies and a far more nuanced understanding of the ap- propriate types and amount of lighting for different uses. Due to the previous code exemptions noted above, New York City’s building stock has not fully benefited from these improvements. Significant reductions in the typical connected light- 26% Interior Lighting 17% Cooling 3% Space Heating ing load are available, and better controls 6% Exterior Lighting 15% Ventilation 25% Other 8% Office Equipment are cutting the number of hours that SOURCE: Con Edison 2010 Energy Efficiency Potential Study (see endnote 1) greenlightny.org THE OPPORTUNITY 9 Project teams that intend to integrate erations of energy conservation measures. daylighting with lighting systems are Given the difficulty in quantifying these faced with a wide variety of strategies, potential benefits and the present lack of systems and technologies: from “on/off” consensus around occupant health and or “stepped” daylight responsive controls productivity benefits, this study focuses that turn fixtures (or lamps within almost solely on the energy savings ben- fixtures) completely off when sufficient efits of daylighting systems. daylight is available, to fully dimmable, New York City buildings are very well NYC OfficeBuildings fully automated, daylight responsive situated to capitalize on the benefits of lighting integrated with perimeter sys- daylight. Many of the City’s older office Retrofitting Daylight Controls in tems such as shades, blinds or other sun buildings were designed to utilize day- control devices. This study focuses on the light, as they were built in electric light- benefits, opportunities and challenges ing’s infancy. Block sizes and orientation of implementing strategies at the more have generally resulted in pre-war build- advanced end of this spectrum. ing floor plates in which daylight reaches Daylighting is an important compo- a good portion of the floor area – in fact, nent of a comprehensive lighting controls New York City’s first comprehensive package. Energy savings from daylighting zoning ordinance was enacted in 1916 in are only realized if controls make it easy part to preserve access to daylight. Appar- and acceptable to turn down or dim the ently, the 1916 zoning changes were ac- INTRODUCTION electric lighting in the space. Addition- cepted by building owners in part because ally, the interaction of the lighting with they understood that daylit offices could window shades and blinds, and with command higher rent. the colors of interior finishes, has the The City’s recently adopted lighting potential to negatively impact occupant upgrade law will drive massive retrofits of satisfaction if not managed properly. antiquated (mostly non code compliant) Daylighting in buildings can save signifi- lighting systems throughout larger office cant electricity, including reducing peak buildings, dramatically reducing lighting demand, while also enhancing occupant energy use. This wave of forth-coming satisfaction in the building. lighting retrofits in New York City is a Exposure to daylight and access to unique opportunity to maximize potential views are associated with important energy savings and the quality of our health benefits, and studies indicate that indoor environments. interior space with good daylighting enhances the comfort, well-being and productivity of the occupants. Measuring the direct causal impact of daylight on occupant health and productivity has proven elusive, but strong correlations are evident. Because the cost of employees heavily outweighs all other business expenses, even mild increases in pro- ductivity (through impacts like reduced absenteeism) can have positive financial impacts that dwarf the typical ROI consid- greenlightny.org 10 THE OPPORTUNITY New York City’s OFFICE SPACE IN MAJOR U.S. CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS 4 (MILLION SQ. FT) Office Market IGHT L New York City has a unique Daylight Zone concentration of office buildings Availability — the biggest office market in (see page 17) HERE DAY BE the United States by a significant T margin. LET Class A, B, C office space A 2002 report found that New York City “… is far and away the largest single con- centration of office activity in the nation. New York City by itself has approximately ten percent of the entire stock of offices in the United States; a remarkable statistic as the city accounts for just 2.8% of the national population and employment.”2 The same report went on to state, “Manhattan is far and away the largest single market in the nation (and in the NEW YORK CITY SEATTLE world), with about twice the inventory 542 / 152 25 / 7 of the next largest areas – Washington, DC, Chicago and Los Angeles… Lower Manhattan, taken by itself, represents an office inventory equal to such metro areas as Boston, Dallas and Atlanta.” Another way to view the size of the New York City office market relative