Steam and a Heat Pump Are a Building Question
Many New York City apartments still heat with steam. A heat pump does not automatically replace that plant. The right scope depends on whether the radiators can be reused, whether the apartment can take indoor units, and where an outdoor unit is allowed to sit.
Installed price depends on the building, the zones, and the electrical work. Ask Heat Pump Network about an installer in New York City for a written quote.
Con Edison describes an air-to-water heat pump as the type that can reuse existing radiators and provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water. A mini split is the type for a space without ductwork. A central air-source heat pump is the type for a building that already has ducts. Those descriptions are on the Con Edison page cited in the NYC heat pump rebates guide. This page does not add a fuel bill, a boiler age, or a savings percent to them.
What to Decide Before Anyone Talks Price
Walk the building with the installer and write the answers down.
- Heat source today: steam boiler, steam from a central plant, or something else.
- What stays: radiators, risers, and the boiler, or only some of them.
- Cooling: whether the project is also the building's cooling, or heating only.
- Outdoor unit: roof, areaway, courtyard, or a wall bracket, and who must approve that spot.
- Indoor side: radiator loop, wall unit, or a ducted air handler.
- Electrical room: whether the panel can take the new circuit.
- Who lives there: owner, shareholder, or a renter who needs the owner's signature.
- Incentive path: Con Edison Participating Contractor, EmPower+ if the household qualifies, or neither until the pages say otherwise.
A quote that skips those items is not a comparison of steam and a heat pump. It is a guess.
Local Law 97, as the Department of Buildings States It
Local Law 97 is a city emissions law for large buildings. It is not a heat pump rebate. The amounts below are from the Department of Buildings page, fetched 2026-10-07: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page
| What the page states | Figure on that page |
|---|---|
| Share of New York City greenhouse gas emissions from buildings | over two thirds |
| Law | Local Law 97 of 2019, as amended |
| Buildings required to meet new greenhouse gas limits | most buildings over 25,000 square feet, beginning in 2024, with stricter limits in 2030 |
| Goal for the City's largest buildings | reduce emissions 40 percent by 2030 and to net zero by 2050 |
| Coverage, single building | exceeds 25,000 gross square feet, as the Department of Finance records it |
| Coverage, two or more buildings on the same tax lot | together exceed 50,000 gross square feet |
| Coverage, two or more condominium buildings with the same board | together exceed 50,000 gross square feet |
| Covered Buildings List | reflects Department records as of March 2026 |
| Article 320 report | by May 1, 2025, then by May 1 of every year after, certified by a registered design professional |
| Article 321 report | by May 1, 2025 |
| Pathways named for buildings on one tax lot | Article 320 beginning in 2024, in 2026, or in 2035, or a one-time Article 321 report |
| Offset deduction | maximum allowable deduction is 10% of a building's calculated emissions limit |
| Fuel cells listed under deductions | installed before 1/19/2023 |
| Adjustments under 320.8 and 320.9 | closed as of January 1, 2025 |
| One Article 321 case | more than 35% rent regulated |
| Source | https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page, fetched 2026-10-07 |
Square footage for coverage is the Department of Finance record, not a tape measure from a sales visit. Compliance is by Building Identification Number. A tax lot can hold more than one building. When the buildings on a lot together meet the 50,000 square foot threshold, the page says all buildings on that lot are subject to Local Law 97, and each building still follows its own pathway (same Department of Buildings page, fetched 2026-10-07).
The page also says individual buildings on a lot may fall under Article 320 beginning in 2024, in 2026, or in 2035, and others may have to demonstrate compliance one time under Article 321 (https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page, fetched 2026-10-07). The Covered Buildings List is reference data. Owners are responsible for checking it. Questions go to BEAM_LL97@buildings.nyc.gov (same page, fetched 2026-10-07).
The page says building owners need a registered design professional, or in limited cases a retro-commissioning agent, for the compliance path. Fees were published in 1 RCNY 101-03 (https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page, fetched 2026-10-07). This guide does not restate a fee, because the fee schedule itself was not the page fetched here.
What Local Law 97 Does Not Tell You
The law does not set the installed price of a heat pump, and it does not say a steam building must convert on a date this guide can quote beyond the emissions limits above. A heat pump can be part of how a covered building cuts emissions. Whether it is the right project is a design and a quote, not a sentence in the statute.
Do not treat "40 percent by 2030" as a savings claim for one apartment. The Department of Buildings states that goal for the City's largest buildings (https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page, fetched 2026-10-07).
Incentives Sit on a Different Page
Con Edison and NYSERDA publish incentive amounts for qualifying heat pump work. Those dollars, the dwelling types, and the caps are in the rebates guide and the incentives guide. They are not Local Law 97 penalties or Local Law 97 grants. This page does not repeat them, so a figure is not copied away from its source line.
If the household is income-eligible and the building is a one- to four-family home, EmPower+ is the NYSERDA path (https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/EmPower-New-York-Program, fetched 2026-10-07). A larger building is outside that dwelling type. Confirm the building type before anyone applies.
How to Read a Steam Conversion Quote
Ask for a scope that a board and a licensed installer can both follow.
- The outdoor unit location, and the approval it needs.
- Whether radiators stay.
- Whether the boiler stays for some risers.
- The electrical work, named separately.
- The permit, and who submits it.
- Any incentive as its own line, with the program name.
- The manufacturer warranty and the labor warranty, in writing.
Compare that sheet with the ratings in heat pumps for the New York City climate and with the hiring checks in how to choose an installer in New York City.
Ask Heat Pump Network about installers in New York City.
Sources
- NYC Department of Buildings, LL97 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/ll97-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reductions.page, fetched 2026-10-07.