Energy Benchmarking – How To Get Started

What is Energy Benchmarking

Building energy benchmarking, simply put, refers to a systemic and continuous process of reviewing your building’s ongoing energy consumption to determine how optimally it’s functioning. It can be internal- measuring the building’s present performance to the past or it could be external, which involves comparing two buildings or more altogether. Regardless of the type, the data studied motivates owners and occupants to strive for improvement.
It facilitates in identifying the poorly performing buildings, establishing a baseline for measuring the improvement, enhancing a competitive spirit through comparison. Moreover, it is also in many ways an initial step towards partaking in green compliance for studying the building’s energy consumption probes the required interventions to make it energy efficient, and ultimately enjoy the credibility that comes with various certifications.

Energy efficiency is a significant priority for building owners today. This is to comply with the relevant regulations and mitigate the effects of climate change.   

This is where energy benchmarking stands out as an excellent way to evaluate your building’s efficiency. You can leverage this approach to better understand the building’s energy consumption and take proper measures to address inefficiencies. 

But the main question here is, how do I get started with energy benchmarking? Well, if you have the same query, continue reading as we will explain how to get started with this approach.          

What is Energy Benchmarking?

A building energy benchmarking program is a continual and systematic approach to monitoring overall energy consumption. This helps determine whether the building is functioning as efficiently as it should.    

Here, you will compare the building’s energy efficiency with the relevant standards of similar buildings. Specialized systems powered by modern technology help you obtain these precise measurements.  

This helps identify specific areas that could benefit from enhancements and help save more energy. You can even regularly track the building’s energy efficiency, collect data, analyze it, and then report it for better insights.    

How Does Energy Benchmarking Work?

NYC energy benchmarking typically relies on two different data sets, including internal and external. The internal data include the building’s historical energy use and water consumption to identify potential issues holding you back. The external data, on the other hand, involves comparing your building’s data with other similar buildings or energy consumption patterns. 

Tools like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager are stand-out tools that most people use for this purpose. This will help you get the right insights from both data sets and make informed choices to enhance the building’s energy efficiency. After you have the data in place, it is time to verify it with the following steps:

1. Start by filtering out the abnormally low or high energy use intensity (EUI) values in the building compared with the national median values. You can get the national median values from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).   
2. Perform an on-site verification. 
3. Randomly sample utility meter data. 
4. Follow or establish a protocol to calculate the building’s energy use against itself over time since all data might not be accurate. 
5. Make the most of energy management software to evaluate the building’s energy consumption and compare it to the potential performance.  
6. If you are responsible for managing multiple buildings, evaluate the performance of each building relative to other similar buildings in the portfolio.    

How to Get Started With Energy Benchmarking?

Getting started with energy benchmarking for your building is not that big of a challenge when you follow the right steps. These steps include:

1. Devising a Benchmarking Plan             

You must start with a proper plan that clarifies the goals you wish to realize with benchmarking. This helps avoid any confusion and uncertainties in the initial stages. Also, make sure to mention the intended audience, which can be anyone from investors to clients or management.

2. Move on to Data Collection and Normalization

You then need to start gathering all the necessary data for effective energy benchmarking. Make the most of every data you can get your hands on, be it utility bills, occupancy rates, or submetering data. Then, normalize this data by accounting for variables like operating hours, weather, and more. This will ensure a fair comparison of the data on multiple buildings.

3. Select the Right Benchmarking Tool

You will find countless benchmarking tools available in the market. However, the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is one of the most preferable choices in the US. You can also choose the GRESB to ensure uncompromised compliance. This system will monitor and analyze your building’s data to ensure consistency.

4. Data Comparison and Analysis  

The next thing you need to do is compare and analyze all the available data. The benchmarking tool will calculate and compare the building’s energy efficiency against established benchmarks or similar buildings. This will help identify underperforming areas and take the right measures to address them.

5. Reporting and Disclosure 

Most jurisdictions with energy benchmarking regulations require you to disclose that data. This could be submitting the data to the concerned authorities or simply making the outcomes publicly available. This helps provide the necessary reports to all stakeholders, investors, and tenants.

6. Performance Tracking and Enhancements

Energy benchmarking is not something you can do one day and forget about. Instead, it is a continuous process that requires you to track performance and collect data regularly. This helps you better understand the impact of energy efficiency initiatives, determine trends, and make informed choices for a better impact.

How It Works

Energy benchmarking essentially involves tools like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, internal or external data is collected, following which the data is verified to ensure reliability and accuracy.  Energy benchmarking is becoming mandatory with grappling threats of climate change that have only blown out post the pandemic. Therefore, it is wiser and safer to participate and invest in energy benchmarking and reap the benefits.
The following steps are typically involved in the verification process:-
– performing verification on site
-randomly considering sampling utility meter data
-comparing against the baseline to essentially trace the progress over time
-filtering out abnormally high or low energy use intensity (EUI). Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey provides the national median values
-curating a protocol for filling in the gaps since not all data will be accurate
-evaluating your building’s performance to similar buildings

How to Get Started?

1. Make an energy benchmarking plan

This shall help you deal with uncertainties and initial confusions. Begin with explicitly stating the purpose of your and goals for your benchmarking plan along with mentioning the intended audience for the results. The audience could be clients, management, investors etc. Next step is to pick your metrics which will be necessary to communicate the results clearly and also finalizing how to proceed for data collection. We also recommend having a separate team with individual role clarity devoted to benchmarking. Further, let the team determine the benchmarking tool & software they’re comfortable with. Also, determine the verification process (that’s been explained above) beforehand.

2. Utilize the available resources

The most widely used energy benchmarking tools are ENERGY STAR and GRESB. Both their websites provide excellent sources and information related to energy benchmarking. However, there are numerous other benchmarking tools, guidelines and standards all of which are offered upon downloading the EnergyWatch E-book.

3) Use energy benchmarking software

Energy benchmarking is a long drawn and comprehensive process for managing a company’s energy usage and keeping tabs on the utility bills for it is a complex job and requires round the clock attention. This is unachievable without the assistance of certain reliable software. EnergyWatch’s watchwire platform offers a platform for energy management & benchmarking in order to comply with the policies as mandated in the Local Law 84. It also collects and monitors the data making sure its detailed, consistent and accurate.

NYC Local Law 84, introduced in 2009 mandates buildings over 50,000 square feet or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 square feet to partake in ‘energy benchmarking’ – to annually measure, track, and report the energy & water consumption. This is done to facilitate a comparative understanding of the building’s energy usage.
It is one of the four plans part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan and it easily applies to at least more than 16,000 buildings in NYC

For more information, reach out to us or call us at (212) 889-6566

PACE financing program- Forward thinking investment

With accelerating need for curbing greenhouse emissions, New York City approved ‘property assessed clean energy’ (PACE) ordinance to help building owners finance their retrofitting projects through low or no interest loans, whereby the obligation of repayment is attached to the building and not to the owner. The idea is that the building owners pay off the loan out of their funds saved from opting efficiency upgrades and thus, incurring no extra costs. PACE can both increase value of the property and save owner’s money by reducing energy costs. However, implementation of PACE program has been delayed owing to several reasons, but most importantly due to Covid-19 crises.

Decarbonising the Energy Sector

Procurement of enough renewable electricity to balance building’s emissions seems to be a daunting task. Local Law 97 permits building owners to meet up to 100 percent of their compliance obligations by buying renewable power, provided that, the electricity must feed directly into New York City’s grid. The proposed Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line carries hydropower from Quebec south to New York City. By the mid-2020s, electricity from wind farms offshore Long Island should begin replacing zero-carbon power from the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

Energy Efficiency Retrofits

While the cost for retrofits would seem as an added cost for building owners, the same would be recovered at a belated stage by reduced operating expenses. In order to meet the challenges ahead, building owners must do retrofits differently, and at a large scale. Invention of new technologies and new business models with labour and professional services will flourish significant changes. Many changes lay ahead, but there’s also an enormous opportunity for market growth if we invest now.

As a matter of fact, primary concern for everyone at present is the impact of COVID-19 but 2024 is right around the corner and retrofits cannot just happen for a building overnight. It is important to understand where these buildings stand at this point, so as to evaluate potential future risks and penalties. Therefore, if the compliances are not done any sooner, there will be a rush towards the deadlines, therefore resulting in heavy penalties. For more information on NYC Climate Mobilization Act, get in touch with us.