Understanding Local Law 87 – and laws like it

Local Law 87 - NYCThe New Paradigm

What does Local Law 87 – and laws like it – mean for you?

With increasing regulatory effort to protect the environment, preserve energy, and reduce carbon emissions, states and cities have taken matters into their own hands by way of local legislation.

New York City’s Local Law 87 (LL87) mandates that buildings over 50,000 gross square feet undergo periodic energy audit and retro-commissioning measures, as part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP).

The intent of this law, and laws like it, is to inform building owners of their energy consumption through energy audits. Energy auditors analyze a building’s energy use and aid in retro-commissioning, which is the process of ensuring correct equipment installation and performance. Ultimately, these audits will help make buildings more efficient.

Why this matters:

Environmental regulations like LL87  make the selection, design and maintenance of modern combustion systems extremely important.

This blog series will educate building owners, operators, and engineers affected by LL87 and laws like it. It will cover the basics of combustion theory, how to properly design a combustion system, and how to effectively control your combustion processes with modern technology.

By the conclusion of this series, you will be armed with the knowledge you need  to make informed decisions regarding your projects and efforts to meet these expected environmental regulatory requirements.


Combustion Terms

Combustion is the process by which the hydrogen and carbon in fuel is combined with oxygen from the air to release heat.

Byproducts include carbon dioxide, water vapor, left-over nitrogen from the air, and possibly unreacted oxygen and/or fuel components.

Combustion Control is the maintenance of the proper fuel and air flows into this process to produce the amount of heat energy required while consuming the least possible fuel and generating the lowest amount of pollution.

The following blog posts will contain further information regarding the combustion process as a whole. Among some of the topics we will cover:

  • Combustion Theory: The Basics
  • Combustion Theory: Variables – Account for variations in oxygen and fuel
  • Combustion Theory: Efficiency – Calculate efficiency and losses
  • Combustion Theory: FGR – See how flue gas recirculation reduces NOx
  • Combustion Theory: Combustion Controls – Learn how cutting-edge tech can cut your emissions
  • Combustion Systems: Design – Basic principles to follow when designing your combustion system
  • Combustion Systems: Troubleshooting: Burner problems and their causes
  • Combustion Control: Strategies – Linkage vs. Linkageless, and why you should care

 

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