Across America we have been reeling from the strange and sometimes severe weather this year. An immediate consequence of the soaring temperatures this summer will be a spike in our electric bills as our air conditioners strain to keep up. It’s not often that anyone can help us cut any of our bills, but this time it’s different.
Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) provides energy for the 10 million people who live and work in New York City and Westchester County. Con Ed’s new energy incentives, just announced, are a remarkable package of incentive programs to assist businesses and multi-family residential buildings in fast-tracking energy-saving upgrades such as LED lighting and controls. Con Ed is offering a promotional incentive increase, on a temporary basis, for projects completed by October 31, 2019.
You have probably heard the sayings “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and “if you snooze, you lose!” It is not an exaggeration to say this now. Con Ed’s promotional incentives are so compelling that Big Shine Energy is putting out a call to action for all New York City businesses to act at once.
In addition, Con Ed designated businesses in select Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods as eligible for special enhanced incentive offers and energy-efficiency upgrades. Con Ed’s website provides full details about these incentives, which include interior and exterior LED lighting fixtures, networked lighting controls, bi-level LED fixtures and occupancy sensors. The incentives also cover an array of HVAC (heating, ventilating, air-conditioning) upgrades, such as variable frequency drives (VFD). These measures can substantially cut energy consumption—up to 90% in some instances. When considering the benefits of Con Ed’s promotional incentive increase, the return on investment (ROI) is unbeatable.
There is an additional reason to jump on these incentives now. New York City has taken a national and international leadership role in fighting climate change by passing the Climate Mobilization Act, mandating comprehensive and deep changes to the commercial and residential infrastructure. Local Law 88 and 134 requires non-residential buildings over 50,000 square feet (and residential buildings with commercial tenants over 10,000 square feet) to upgrade their lighting systems and install sub-meters for commercial tenants by December 31, 2024. Additional measures require extensive changes by 2030, which sounds far away until you see what is needed. If you grab the low-hanging fruit now, your immediate upgrades will be ideally subsidized by Con Ed, and in less than two years you can reap pure profit. Month after month, the savings you make will help compensate for the much deeper energy measures required by the Climate Mobilization Act.
Where does Big Shine fit in?
First, we are proud to say that we are a participating contractor with Con Ed. We know that new energy-saving lighting and HVAC technologies can sound a little intimidating, so we have a unique turnkey solution to help navigate through incentive programs, applications, and paperwork.
Using the example of lighting, here is a breakdown of how our turnkey service works. We begin with a complementary lighting audit. During the audit we will survey all of your current lighting and document the energy consumption as well as current lighting levels as compared to IES recommendations. Big Shine Energy compares the benefits of room-by-room controls, bi-level lighting and networked controls, as appropriate.
Big Shine’s photometric department prepares “before-and-after” renderings to know exactly what to expect after the lighting upgrade. Big Shine’s incentives department works closely with Con Ed. We confirm each project’s incentive eligibility and establish a project schedule, given the October deadline. Big Shine is ISNetworld-rated, assuring that our installation team maintains the highest level of safety practices. Upon completion, we commission the lighting upgrade and provide full post-installation support.
The new Climate Mobilization Act may appear daunting, but we can approach it step-by-step as a series of opportunities. In this way, we can enjoy the benefits of state-of-the-art lighting and climate control while reaping tremendous savings on energy costs now and into the future. Our Big Shine Energy team applauds Con Ed for its comprehensive incentive program and proactive approach.
Submitted by the Big Shine Energy Technology Office on 7/24/2019
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