Introduction
New York City has made one thing clear: energy efficiency isn’t optional anymore. With ambitious climate goals and bold local legislation, the city is driving change in how buildings operate, consume power, and support the grid.
Local Law 87 (LL87) is one of the cornerstones of that transformation. As part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, LL87 mandates regular energy evaluations for large buildings. And with battery energy storage systems (BESS) becoming an integral part of New York’s clean energy landscape, it’s no longer just HVAC and lighting systems under the microscope. BESS must meet the mark too.
If your building uses or plans to add energy storage, compliance with LL87 isn’t just a good idea; it’s essential. And that’s where EticaAG’s LiquidShield immersion cooling technology and HazGuard safety system come into play. These technologies aren’t just about performance; they’re built for safety, reliability, and compliance.
Let’s break it all down.
What is Local Law 87?
Local Law 87 was enacted in 2009 as part of a suite of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the city’s biggest energy users. It falls under the broader Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, a legislative package targeting over half of NYC’s built square footage.
Here’s what the law requires:
- Energy Audits to evaluate how buildings use energy and where efficiency can improve.
- Retro-commissioning to ensure that building systems are operating as designed.
- Energy Efficiency Report (EER) submission every 10 years, based on the building’s tax block number.
It applies to:
- Single buildings over 50,000 square feet
- Multiple buildings on the same tax lot totaling more than 100,000 square feet
Energy Audit and Retro-Commissioning Process
The Energy Audit must identify opportunities for energy savings across HVAC, lighting, envelope, and related systems. Retro-commissioning includes functional performance testing, calibration of sensors, and correction of deficiencies found during the audit.
Retro-commissioning under LL87 is not a surface-level checklist. It’s a deep dive into how well building systems are performing compared to their design intent. Some of the systems that must be tested and adjusted include:
- Air handling units and exhaust systems
- Heating and cooling plants (boilers, chillers)
- Lighting controls and schedules
- Domestic hot water systems
- HVAC setpoints, economizers, and occupancy sensors
- Building envelope sealing and insulation performance
For buildings with BESS, this means that thermal management systems, HVAC integrations, and control logic must also be functioning efficiently. Improperly cooled storage or inefficient EMS responses can trigger failures in this phase, even if your batteries are technically “working.” Building owners must submit their findings using DOB’s online portal.
Filing, Deadlines, and Documentation
In addition to building size thresholds, building owners are directly responsible for filing the Energy Efficiency Report (EER) with the NYC Department of Buildings. The work must be performed by qualified professionals such as:
- A Licensed Professional Engineer (PE)
- A Registered Architect (RA)
- A Certified Energy Manager (CEM) or equivalent credentialed expert
Each report must be submitted once every ten years. The filing deadline is determined by the last digit of your building’s tax block number. For example, if your tax block ends in “7,” your filing year would be 2017, 2027, and so on.
Beyond fines, buildings must retain all documentation for at least 11 years after submission. This includes:
- Energy audit reports
- Retro-commissioning records
- Correction documentation
- Supporting system data from EMS or building automation systems
This long-term retention aligns with the city’s goals to not just certify efficiency once, but to sustain performance over time.
Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $3,000 for the first year and $5,000 for each additional year until a compliant EER is filed.
This law is not just a technicality. It’s about proving that your building is making measurable efforts to reduce waste, increase performance, and meet NYC’s sustainability benchmarks. As the city increases enforcement and moves toward net-zero goals, compliance with LL87 is also becoming a competitive advantage for building owners.
Exemptions and Deferrals
Some buildings may qualify for exemptions or deferrals from LL87 requirements:
- Exemptions apply if a building is enrolled in the NYC Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) and has documentation proving compliance with energy targets.
- Deferrals may be granted for newer buildings that already meet ASHRAE 90.1-2007 or equivalent energy performance benchmarks. These buildings may be allowed to skip retro-commissioning for one cycle.
This flexibility is helpful, but it doesn’t mean building owners are off the hook. Even exempted properties benefit from smart, low-energy solutions like EticaAG’s immersion cooling, which reduce load and simplify future audits.
How LL87 Affects Battery Energy Storage Systems
With incentives from NYSERDA and the added push from Local Law 97, Battery Energy Storage Systems are showing up everywhere. They are being deployed in high-rise residential towers, mixed-use developments, and commercial real estate retrofits. BESS is becoming a staple of efficient, resilient infrastructure.
But with that power comes responsibility.
LL87 Compliance and BESS
BESS aren’t invisible to auditors. In fact, they have a significant impact on your building’s energy profile. If your BESS isn’t properly cooled, optimized, and integrated, here’s what can happen:
- Red flags in energy audits due to high parasitic loads
- Retro-commissioning failures from inefficient or malfunctioning systems
- Safety code violations from thermal risk or gas release
LL87 compliance demands a holistic view of your building’s energy systems and that includes how your batteries perform under pressure.
How Can Battery Storage Systems Improve the Results of an Energy Audit?
While battery systems must meet strict performance standards to comply with Local Law 87, they also present a significant opportunity to enhance your building’s energy audit results if they are designed and managed properly. Here’s how battery storage systems can actively improve your building’s energy profile and overall audit performance:
Peak Shaving: Flattening Load Curves
One of the most immediate ways BESS can support a better audit score is through peak shaving. By discharging stored energy during high-demand periods, battery systems reduce your building’s peak energy consumption. This lowers your overall demand charges and helps flatten the building’s load profile, which is often flagged during an audit as a source of inefficiency.
Audit Impact: Lower peak loads mean reduced stress on HVAC systems and other critical infrastructure. This demonstrates operational control and efficient load management.
Load Shifting: Matching Supply with Demand
Load shifting allows your building to store low-cost or excess solar energy during off-peak hours and use it during high-cost, high-demand times. This dynamic load balancing not only optimizes energy spend but also demonstrates strategic energy use.
Audit Impact: Load shifting reflects intentional energy planning, which is something auditors view positively when evaluating system performance and controllability.
Increased Self-Consumption of Renewable Energy
Buildings with on-site solar generation can dramatically increase the efficiency and impact of their systems by pairing them with BESS. Instead of exporting excess solar to the grid during midday (when grid demand is low), batteries allow that energy to be stored and used later, such as during evening peaks.
Audit Impact: Enhancing self-consumption supports NYC’s broader sustainability goals while reducing grid dependence. It also ensures your solar array performs closer to its full potential, boosting your audit score.
Enhanced Grid Stability and Building Resilience
Energy audits don’t just look at kilowatts; they evaluate system stability. Battery storage contributes to building resilience by providing instant backup during outages and supporting grid stability through demand response or frequency regulation.
Audit Impact: Demonstrating grid-friendly behavior and backup capacity positions your building as a responsible energy citizen, which auditors value under LL87 and other performance-based standards.
Reduced Demand Charges and Operating Costs
By controlling when and how much energy your building pulls from the grid, BESS can significantly reduce demand charges. These charges are based on your highest interval of electricity use each month and can account for a large portion of a building’s utility bill.
Audit Impact: Lower demand charges translate to reduced operating costs and improved energy intensity metrics, both of which are considered during an energy audit and retro-commissioning review.
How EticaAG Helps Buildings Align with LL87 Compliance
Achieving compliance with Local Law 87 requires thoughtful integration of systems that improve both energy efficiency and operational performance. EticaAG’s solutions are designed to support measurable improvements in thermal management, safety, and system transparency. These factors are essential for successful energy audits and retro commissioning.
Immersion Cooling Reduces HVAC Load and Boosts Efficiency
EticaAG’s immersion cooling technology takes a smarter approach to thermal management. Instead of using high-volume air conditioning to cool battery containers directly, our system submerges battery cells in a thermally stable liquid.
Here’s why that matters for LL87 compliance:
- Lower overall HVAC energy demand by limiting cooling to the immersion liquid, not the entire container.
- More consistent cell temperatures, which extends battery life and reduces performance losses
- Seamless EMS/BMS integration, giving auditors clear visibility into system efficiency and thermal management
In a world where energy performance audits matter, reducing HVAC dependency and improving system-level efficiency helps your BESS contribute to a better LL87 outcome.
HazGuard Improves Safety and Operational Readiness
Energy efficiency is only half the story. Safety and system reliability are just as important in a building performance report.
This is where HazGuard comes in. It is EticaAG’s integrated gas neutralization system. Here’s what it brings to the table:
- Sealed enclosures contain gas leaks during a thermal runaway event
- Specialized chemical media neutralize HF, VOCs, and hydrogen
- Supports safe deployment in tight urban environments where failure is not an option
HazGuard keeps you compliant with fire codes, indoor air standards, and LL87 retro-commissioning requirements. It also protects your occupants and your asset.
Supports Electrification Goals Without Efficiency Tradeoffs
NYC’s Local Law 97 is driving widespread electrification. That’s great for carbon reduction, but it increases the pressure on buildings to manage energy density efficiently.
EticaAG’s technologies help buildings navigate this tightrope:
- High-performance storage without energy waste
- Thermal safety with lower dependence on large-scale airflow systems
- Smooth integration into electrified infrastructure
In short, you can go electric without sacrificing your LL87 score.
Best Practices for LL87 Compliance When Adding BESS
Whether you’re adding BESS to a new construction or retrofitting an older building, here’s how to stay on the right side of the law:
- Bring your BESS into the audit scope early. Don’t treat it as a separate system. Align it with your building-wide efficiency goals.
- Use smart, transparent systems. Choose solutions that integrate with Building Management Systems and log performance data automatically.
- Prioritize low-energy, low-risk technologies. Immersion cooling and gas neutralization are smarter than traditional cooling and venting.
- Work with LL87-savvy consultants. Make sure your retro-commissioning agent understands energy storage systems. Not all do.
These steps can mean the difference between a compliant report and a costly correction notice.
Conclusion: Future-Proof Your Storage with Compliance in Mind
Local Law 87 isn’t just a checklist. It’s a blueprint for smarter, safer, and more sustainable buildings. As BESS becomes a backbone of clean energy in New York City, it needs to meet the same rigorous standards as every other system inside the building envelope.
EticaAG’s immersion cooling and HazGuard technologies are built for this new era. They reduce energy waste. They eliminate thermal risks. And they align with the principles behind LL87: performance, accountability, and public safety.
More importantly, they empower building owners to take control of both energy and risk. With energy costs rising and permitting requirements becoming more complex, choosing systems that simplify compliance can create a long-term competitive advantage. From data transparency to safer installation in dense urban environments, EticaAG delivers more than just a product; it delivers peace of mind.
Whether you’re upgrading an aging building or designing something new, it pays to think ahead. Make your storage system as efficient and compliant as the rest of your infrastructure.
