The Power of Information:Rating and Disclosing Building

Energy Performance

Alexandra SullivanUS EPA, ENERGY STAR

December 2, 2009

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Agenda

ENERGY STAR Ratings Objective Characteristics Technical foundation Accessibility

Energy Rating and Disclosure Benefits Market Interest Key to Success

Questions and Discussion

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ENERGY STAR RatingsObjective

Help businesses protect the environment through superior energy efficiency

Motivate organizations to develop a strategic approach to energy management

Convey information about energy performance in a simple metric that can be understood by all levels of the organization

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ENERGY STAR RatingsCharacteristics

Monitor actual as-billed energy data Create a whole building indicator

Capture the interactions of building systems not individual equipment efficiency

Track energy use accounting for weather and operational changes over time

Provide a peer group comparison Compare a building’s energy performance to its

national peer group Track how changes at a building level alter the

building’s standing relative to its peer group

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ENERGY STAR RatingsTechnical foundation

Analyze national survey data Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey

(CBECS) Develop regression models to predict energy use

for specific space types based on operations Create scoring lookup table

Ratings are based on the distribution of energy performance across commercial buildings

One point on the ENERGY STAR scale represents one percentile of buildings

Buildings that perform in the 75th percentile or better can earn the ENERGY STAR label

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ENERGY STAR RatingsTechnical foundation

The rating does Evaluate as billed energy use relative to building

operations Normalize for operational characteristics (e.g., size,

number of employees, walk-in refrigeration, climate) Depend on a statistically representative sample of the

US commercial building population The rating does not

Attempt to sum the energy use of each piece of equipment

Normalize for technology choices or market conditions (e.g., type of lighting, energy price)

Explain how or why a building operates as it does

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Medical Offices Office Buildings

Hospitals

Warehouses

Dormitories

Supermarkets

Courthouses

K-12 Schools

Bank/FinancialInstitutions

Hotels

Wastewater Treatment Plants

Retail Stores

Eligible Space Types

Houses of Worship

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ENERGY STAR RatingsAccessibility: Portfolio Manager

Free on-line tracking and benchmarking tool Available for any building Track energy use

Site EUI Source EUI Weather normalized source EUI National average comparisons

Energy performance ratings (for selected spaces) Track energy costs Track carbon emissions using eGRID Track water consumption Data sharing functions and automated data import Apply for ENERGY STAR recognition

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Statement of Energy Performance

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Certificate for Display

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Energy Rating and DisclosureBenefits

Identify inefficiency There is a great potential for cost-effective energy efficiency across the

national building stock Better information on how much energy buildings use and how buildings

compare to one another is critical to fulfilling this potential Provide a whole building assessment

Energy assessment at the building level reveals information about how technologies interact and influence performance

Improve energy performance Simple metrics are powerful motivators for change, spurring efficiency

improvements within public and private organizations Metrics that can be easily quantified can be tracked regularly and

communicated within and among organizations Maintain savings

Simple quantifiable measures can be tracked year-to-year to ensure persistence of savings

Almost 40% of ENERGY STAR labels each year are earning a label for the second or third time

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Energy Rating and DisclosureGrowing Interest

Organizations and businesses Internal energy management tracking Internal disclosure of scores (store managers,

regional and upper management) Voluntary disclosure of scores on web (school

districts, governments) Real Estate information services

CoStar Hotel services (Travelocity, AAA, Orbitz)

Mandatory Disclosure Legislation Time of Sale (California) Annual public disclosure (D.C. New York City)

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Learn about governments leveraging ENERGY STAR in legislation and voluntary campaigns. www.energystar.gov/government

Energy Rating and DisclosureGrowing Interest

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Energy Rating and DisclosureKeys to Success

Measured energy data The use of actual measured building data is critical to assessing

performance Measured data will account for interactions among building systems,

building maintenance, tenant activities, etc Data verification

Data must be accurate to provide a fair comparison among buildings Decision makers need to know that information is reviewed and

complete Accessibility

System and metrics should be easy to use and understand Costs should be kept to a minimum to encourage broad applicability

Consistency Metrics should be used from design through construction and operation Standardized metrics provide a reliable platform for organizations

Questions and Discussion