The following viewpoint was written by Drew Maggio, Technical Director of Highmark
Local building and construction regulations are constantly evolving to keep up with the needs of communities and their inhabitants. Complying with local regulations, let alone having a thorough understanding of them, can be a difficult undertaking for building owners and engineers, and the consequences of non-compliance can be quite costly.
To ensure that the necessary actions are taken in a timely manner, it is paramount that an organization has a strategy to monitor, analyze, address and comply with new and evolving regulatory requirements.
Consider, for example, the new codes New York City enacted in January to promote energy efficiency, reliability and cost savings. On March 30, the city will begin enforcing the New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC), which was enacted along with New York’s Existing Building Code (EBC) in January. While projects with applications submitted on or before March 29, 2026, can continue review under NYCECC 2020, organizations planning work after March 30, 2026 should plan to meet the 2025 NYCECC standards. Existing buildings will not be affected by the EBC, which offers building operators flexible compliance options, until 2027, but making plans to ensure regulatory needs are met in advance is still a smart idea.
NYCECC is specifically helping the city standardize and align its code with the General Staff’s 2025 Energy Conservation Building Code. The code mandates air leak testing, limits the use of safety electric resistance heating systems to temperatures below 17°F, and establishes demand response requirements for commercial water heating and lighting, improving energy efficiency.
Construction operations teams should have a comprehensive approach to meet the upcoming requirements in New York. Fortunately, there are countless options when it comes to adopting solutions to meet these energy conservation standards.
One of the main general requirements focuses on the hardening of the building’s thermal envelope. Properly sealing a building envelope can have significant effects on the size, cost and performance of mechanical systems. In addition to improving window and door insulation requirements, the NYCECC has strengthened requirements to mitigate thermal bridging. Thermal bridging occurs when parts of a building’s interior are in contact with the envelope, allowing heat to escape from the building. Approaches such as Passive House principled construction, which focuses heavily on energy efficiency standards and emphasizes envelope sealing, have grown in popularity in New York.
Energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions such as heat pumps can also improve resilience during storms or heat waves, removing strain on the grid and improving user reliability. There are numerous types of heat pumps to choose from depending on the application, location and building type.
To cope with the high energy demand for heating and cooling buildings a process called energy recovery can be used. The most common type of energy recovery is a device called an energy recovery fan, which exchanges heat between incoming outside air and outgoing exhaust air, easing the load on air conditioning systems. Buildings can also consider using heat energy recovered from wastewater to heat fresh, clean water for sinks and showers. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has promoted energy recovery as a way to minimize energy use in buildings to facilitate decarbonization. NYSERDA also offers its “FlexTech” program, which provides subsidized technical assistance to buildings looking to improve their energy efficiency.
Building and construction codes are constantly evolving, in New York City and across the country. Being prepared and maintaining a solid understanding of the basic level of code requirements saves organizations precious time and resources, while achieving project goals and avoiding unnecessary delays.
Now is the right time to start working on a compliance strategy to eliminate unnecessary headaches and contribute to broader citywide energy efficiency goals.
Drew Maggio is the CTO of HIGHMARK, a company that supports building decarbonization, electrification, and cost savings by bringing innovative building efficiency technologies to New York City. He joined the company in 2023 and has since played a role in growing the business through his expertise in documentation, process automation and strategic engagement with industry groups such as NESEA, NY-Geo, NY Passive House and NYSERDA.
