Benchmark the Way to an Energy Efficient Facility

For many, the term “benchmarking” may conjure up images of nightmarish hours spent sifting through spreadsheets and data to fulfill another corporate fad. But in reality, benchmarking is critically important, offering the clearest road map for making energy efficiency improvements.

To be competitive in the commercial market, you need to know what the rest of the industry is doing. “If I have 70 buildings and I can’t benchmark the properties first and see where the opportunities are, it’s very difficult to know where to focus the capital and human resources,” says Padavano, whose company is responsible for 5 million square feet of space.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a free web-based tool that allows facility executives to do just that. In fact, we have not found anything that comes close to the resources that EPA has built into the ENERGY STAR Program.

To use the tool, data such as facility size, energy use, occupancy and zip code are entered into the Portfolio Manager, which then produces a rating from 1 to 100. The rating shows how a building stacks up against similar buildings across the country, based on a national survey of buildings conducted by the Energy Information Administration. A score of 75 or better is required to earn the ENERGY STAR Label for Buildings. We tested this and found that if you have all of the needed information, the actual process can take less than 20 minutes. The challenge can be gathering the energy information, if you don’t have it readily available.

Using the Tool
There are several ways to ease data collection. Those who have large portfolios can use the “master account” feature to allow local staff to enter and update individual building information so facility executives can see results across the portfolio at a glance.

All of this makes it easier for facility executives to generate their ENERGY STAR ratings. But that number is really just the beginning. The focus shouldn’t just be on getting a label. Don’t be frustrated. A low rating may have the best opportunities for efficient building improvement and energy savings.

Savvy building owners and managers use the rating as a tool to make continuous improvement. If you get a 60, we can provide you with resources to set targets to find out how you can improve your energy performance.

How?
Operating strategies can have a big impact. We’ve seen buildings that have improved their score by 10 or 20 points by operating strategies alone, if not more. In a portfolio, ENERGY STAR offers value because it shows where the best performing buildings are. Once operational improvements are made (and verified by watching monthly or quarterly ENERGY STAR scores), it makes sense to work on low-cost upgrades first, followed by larger upgrades. For example, replacing the lighting with a more efficient system could reduce a building’s heat load.


The starting score provides an indication of how easy it will be to improve efficiency. Buildings with scores under 50 will respond well to just operational changes. Scores between 50 and 74 suggest buildings may require equipment upgrades as well as operational improvements. We’ve developed strategic partnerships to allow us to further assist you, providing energy saving solutions that allow you operate more efficiently and save thousands.