At the YMCA, Early Compliance with NYC Local Law 88 Lighting Upgrades Saves over $830,000 Annually

Local Law 88 mandates all buildings greater than 25,000 square feet upgrade all of their lighting and lighting controls with equipment that adhere to the New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) by 2025. Looking to reduce its facilities’ energy and carbon emissions, YMCA of Greater New York engaged EN-POWER GROUP to develop and implement a comprehensive Lighting Upgrade Master Plan.

The YMCA’s massive lighting upgrade was done with an emphasis on deep energy and carbon savings, high-quality lighting aesthetics, and incorporation of consistent and easily serviceable LED lighting products throughout the branches. To gain a detailed understanding of each facility’s existing lighting systems and potential upgrade options, EN-POWER’s lighting experts performed investment grade lighting audits at all 22 branches.

These detailed lighting audits consisted of documenting every single fixture type and quantity, ballast type and quantity, lamp/fixture wattage, lighting control type, and run hours as well as an analysis of lighting power density (LPD) in each room of the facilities. Our Lighting Project Managers then developed a holistic Lighting Upgrade Master Plan that outlined all proposed lighting and control upgrades, which were selected for their deep energy and carbon savings, high-quality aesthetics, and ease of maintenance to reduce future operating costs.

After careful review of the Lighting Upgrade Master Plan, the YMCA decided to implement all proposed upgrades in each of their branches.

Because of our team’s high-quality work during the Master Plan Development phase, the YMCA decided to continue working with EN-POWER for the next phase of Project Implementation at all facilities. Our project team worked closely with the on-the-ground contractors, personally overseeing the installation work in the gyms, offices, schools, hotels, and residential areas – many of which are 24/7 spaces that often required installation work to occur at night and on the weekends.

Overall, these upgrades resulted in nearly $700,000 in annual energy savings, nearly $140,000 in operating cost savings, and 2,500 tons of annual carbon emission savings.