Housing
New York City Cracks Down On Steam Heating
Upgrading cranky, ancient systems could be one of the largest single opportunities to cut building emissions.
Most of the greenhouse gas emissions—nearly 75 percent—generated by cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago come from heating, cooling, and lighting buildings. But it can be hard to get property managers to do a whole lot about it.
Yes, at least 15 cities around the U.S. now have “energy benchmarking” laws, requiring building owners to report annual water, heat, and cooling use, plus a clutch of rebates for stuff like solar panels and rain barrels to help them improve their stats. Even so, the incentives to act—especially for those in charge of large buildings—aren’t always great. Owners are the ones fronting the costs of installing new, more energy-efficient technology, but they’re not necessarily the ones paying the utility bills.