What Is Benchmarking For Commercial Buildings?

Energy benchmarking measures and tracks energy and water usage and ghg emissions. It benchmarks the performance of a building against other similar use buildings, with a weather normalization by zip code.

To benchmark a building, utility data, along with certain physical and operational characteristics of the building, is entered into the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager software to produce a performance report. This report provides building owners with an Energy Star Score, of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most energy efficient.

The report also identifies the Site and Source EUI calculations.

Energy Benchmarking and Disclosure Reports

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure” – USGBC

Why do I need to benchmark my building?

As building efficiency improvements become more affordable, they are also becoming law.

Cities such as Los Angeles (EBEWE), San Jose, and San Diego have all enacted ordinances requiring commercial and multi-family buildings to report their annual energy usage. Many states have also implemented state-wide programs, such as California’s AB 802, that require energy disclosure and audit reports to be completed.

Benchmarking through Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager software is required for both city- and state-wide legislature, and the Energy Star score reveals big opportunities for energy savings. Benchmarking is becoming common practice not only in the law, but also in making financial and business decisions.

The benchmarking score will tell your investors how your facility stacks up to the competition and to market values. See our EBEWE and AB 802 pages for more details on these disclosure laws.

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