Energy Benchmarking

When it comes to building energy use, a commonly-repeated adage is: You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Building energy benchmarking is the process of measuring a building’s energy use and comparing that energy data to similar buildings. Benchmarking provides local governments with a simple pathway to clearly measure and examine their energy costs up-close, such that those costs, and the associated emissions, can be managed effectively.

Tracking a building’s energy use is a necessary first step toward reducing energy consumption and associated costs.

Benchmarked energy data can be used to:

• • Measure a building’s energy performance over time
  • Establish energy reduction goals
  • Identify opportunities for reduction in consumption and costs
  • Gain recognition for high-performing buildings
  • Comply with local and state energy reporting regulations
  • Quantify energy and financial savings as a result of energy efficiency improvements

As cities gain experience with benchmarking and lead by example, they can encourage commercial buildings within the city to follow suit.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a free energy and water benchmarking software program developed by the EPA.

An EPA study of over 35,000 buildings found that buildings whose data was entered into Portfolio Manager averaged a 2.4% savings per year, for a total of 75 savings over the course of the study.

While cities commonly use Portfolio Manager when starting their benchmarking programs, many other third-party software providers can be used as well.

The City of Houston is benchmarking almost 10 million square feet of its building space in about 400 properties.

The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), HARC, and SPEER created a case study detailing Houston’s benchmarking challenges, successes, stakeholder process, and lessons learned. This case study is a valuable resource for cities who are beginning their benchmarking programs.

You can read the “Benchmarking City Properties: City of Houston Case Study” here.

Cities have a variety of benchmarking methods available to them. Some cities perform internal benchmarking by keeping their own spreadsheets of monthly energy data. Another option is using EPA’s free Energy Star Portfolio Manager software which allows cities to easily compare data findings to similar buildings. Additionally, there are a variety of proprietary benchmarking and building energy management software tools available on the market.

No matter what method cities choose, the Department of Energy suggests creating a benchmarking plan whenever new facilities are built.

To support this effort, the Department of Energy created a step-by-step guide for designing internal energy benchmarking plans. The complete “Designing a Benchmark Plan” document, along with additional guidance on benchmarking, is available in the Better Buildings State and Local Solution Center here.

Some cities have gone beyond internal energy benchmarking by creating benchmarking programs that apply to commercial, multifamily, or even residential buildings within the city. These types of programs encourage increased transparency of energy usage, and bring the topic of energy to the forefront of public awareness.

When private buildings participate in these benchmarking programs, whether it be voluntary or as part of a mandatory energy disclosure requirement, they will often use Portfolio Manager or proprietary software to track and report their energy use.

Mandatory Program: Texas Local Government Energy Reporting

Since 2001, Health and Safety Code Section 388.005 has mandated that political subdivisions including cities, counties, water districts and other local government entities in non-attainment or nearing non-attainment counties in Texas develop a plan to reduce energy use by 5% annually, and report on progress towards these reduction goals to the State each year. These entities report on their progress each year to the State Energy Conservation office (SECO). Because this law involves identifying total electric consumption on an annual basis, benchmarking can help entities quantify energy data to meet requirements.

Mandatory Program: Austin ECAD

Benchmarking disclosure ordinances take benchmarking a step further by requiring public, commercial, multifamily, or residential buildings to publicly share their building energy data – typically on an annual aggregated level. Disclosure of energy data increases transparency and awareness of building performance, particularly in real estate transactions and tenant decisions on office space rental. Energy benchmarking disclosure also encourages building owners to make efficiency improvements when usage is high.

Many cities across the country have benchmarking disclosure ordinances. The Department of Energy created an “Energy Benchmarking, Rating, and Disclosure for Local Governments” fact sheet on this topic available for download here.

In Texas, the City of Austin has a mandatory benchmarking and disclosure requirement that applies to homes, multi-family properties, and commercial buildings (10,000 sq. feet or larger). The requirement was passed as the city’s Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance. The full text of the Austin ECAD Ordinance is available here.

Voluntary Program: 2030 Districts

2030 Districts are voluntary, public-private partnerships comprised of commercial property owners, property managers, cities, and business leaders. Districts aim to increase the performance of buildings in their cities through no-nonsense, cost-effective improvements that reduce water, energy, and carbon consumption.

2030 Districts commit to reducing building energy use, water consumption, and transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 (compared to 2003 levels). Because of this quantitative goal, accurate benchmarking is a crucial aspect of participation in a 2030 District.

Texas is home to the Dallas and San Antonio 2030 Districts. Buildings that participate in the San Antonio 2030 District are required to benchmark their energy and water use in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in order to quantify the District’s progress towards its energy reduction goals. Learn more about the San Antonio 2030 District here.

More than a dozen 2030 Districts are operating across the US. Learn more about the national network of 2030 Districts here.

More examples of mandatory and voluntary benchmarking programs can be found in the Energy Benchmarking Toolkit here.

Water is an increasingly scarce resource. Local governments in Texas are seeking creative ways to reduce their water consumption. Just as cities can benchmark their building energy use, many cities have begun benchmarking their water use to set a baseline and identify savings opportunities.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager allows users to upload their water bill information to benchmark their water use. Portfolio Manager has two water use intensity metrics: Water Intensity (all water sources divided by the building’s square footage) and Indoor Water Intensity (all indoor water meters divided by the building’s square footage).

By comparing these water metrics against the national median averages, local governments can quickly identify which buildings have the greatest potential for water savings measures. More information on water tracking in Portfolio Manager is available here.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a free energy measurement and tracking tool that allows organizations to upload and track energy and water usage data in their buildings. Many cities rely on Portfolio Manager to benchmark their buildings. Cities can get started by simply entering their energy bills and basic building information.

Portfolio Manager is the required benchmarking tool for initiatives such as the 2030 Districts, the Better Buildings Challenge, and ENERGY STAR Certification. According to the EPA, 40% of US commercial building space has already been benchmarked in Portfolio Manager, including over half of Fortune 100 companies.

Access Portfolio Manager online here.

Read the Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide here to learn more and get started.

The Department of Energy created a simple step-by-step kit for local governments who are looking to start benchmarking their buildings. This kit includes a data collection worksheet and a catalog of Portfolio Manager trainings.

Access the Department of Energy’s Benchmarking Starter Kit online here.

The State Energy Conservation Office, along with the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), created an online interactive Toolkit entirely devoted to energy benchmarking in Texas.

The Texas Energy Benchmarking Toolkit includes resources, case studies, and instructions on how to create a benchmarking plan for your community.

Access the complete Texas Energy Benchmarking Toolkit online here.

The national Building Operator Certification (BOC) course builds on benchmarked data to optimize the energy management of any commercial building. BOC is a leading training and certification program for building operators and facility managers with supporting research indicating that graduates save their facilities an average of $11,000 per year in energy costs.

SPEER administers this program in Texas and Oklahoma, and have had several cities, companies, colleges, and utilities have participate locally.

Contact SPEER for information on how to organize or attend a BOC training.

SECO offers free remote energy audits and preliminary energy assessments to local governments in Texas, including cities and counties.

These assessments are conducted at no cost and are an excellent way for local governments to learn about energy efficiency opportunities in their facilities. Utility bill analysis, recommended maintenance and retrofit procedures, informal on-site training, and facility benchmarking through Portfolio Manager are all included in these assessments.