ENERGY STAR for Commercial Buildings
ENERGY STAR has consumer name-recognition and an energy efficiency connotation when referring to light bulbs, appliances, and office equipment. The ENERGY STAR program also establishes energy consumption metrics and offers ratings for homes and commercial buildings that meet or exceed these metrics. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose end goal is to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, offers ENERGY STAR Awards for buildings that meet established benchmarks as compared to buildings in the Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) database. Facilities that do not meet the minimum score, but show increased efficiency through energy conservation efforts can also apply for some level of recognition.
The program is intended for existing buildings, as one year of data is required in order to participate in the program. Utility bills are collected and energy consumption is input and collected in a Portfolio Manager program on the ENERGY STAR website. The following list of commercial building types are encouraged to participate: government facilities, healthcare, higher education, hospitality / entertainment, industrial buildings, K-12 schools, multi-family facilities, and retail facilities. Resources are also available for small businesses and religious facilities.
The ENERGY STAR program also has a Target Finder program available for architects and building owners to use when designing new commercial buildings. It establishes realistic energy targets for buildings based on the CBECS database.
RATIONALE
By documenting the energy usage of a facility, the end user is able to gauge the operating efficiencies and inefficiencies as compared to a databse of buildings across the nation. Building users are often unaware if the facility is performing poorly. By establishing a benchmark for the facility’s energy use, energy improvements are able to be addressed and implemented.
EFFORT REQUIRED
The building owner, facilities manager, or energy manager will collect and input at least 12 months of energy data into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager website once a profile has been set up. Attendance at online training is not mandatory, but is encouraged in order to train the end-user on how to use the Portfolio Manager program. In order to qualify for awards within the ENERGY STAR program, the project must meet or exceed an established benchmark and an engineer must verify the data entered is accurate.
Establishing an energy efficiency program and incorporating energy efficiency measures requires planning and implementation on the part of the facilities manager and buy-in on the part of the building owner and users. “Low hanging fruit,” that is, low-to-no cost items, are usually incorporated into energy efficiency planning. But other significant energy-saving measures can require capital expenditures.
There is no cost to utilize the ENERGY STAR tools, Portfolio Manager, or Target Finder. They are available for free online.
BENEFITS
Awareness about energy efficiency is increased. Free resources are available online for energy conservation; implementation of energy efficiency measures will cause a reduction in energy use, resulting in less pollution and lower operating costs. Some level of “competition” can be encouraged between facilities in order to exceed another facility’s ENERGY STAR score — thus encouraging increased energy conservation.
RISKS
The data is not available for public use unless allowed by the Portfolio Manager account holder. If a facility receives a low ENERGY STAR score, the facility manager may not want to share this information with the building owner and/or building users. It may have a negative connotation. A barrier to applying for ENERGY STAR awards is the need to have a professional engineer verify ENERGY STAR compliance when applying for awards.
ACTION AGENTS
For ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager: Building Owner, Facility Manager, Energy Manager, Engineer.
For ENERGY STAR Target Finder: Building Owner, Architect, Engineer, and Energy Manager
COSTS
There are no costs to accessing and using the ENERGY STAR tools and resources. When applying for ENERGY STAR awards, there may be a cost to have a Professional Engineer verify that energy use is accounted for accurately, that building characteristics are property reported, the building is fully functional in accordance with industry standards, and that the ENERGY STAR indoor environment criteria have been met.
Reduction in, or elimination of, the use of natural and other energy resources. Also includes installations or modifications of equipment or systems intended to reduce energy use and costs.A measure of a building's or product's energy performance compared with that of similar buildings or products, as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY STARŪ Portfolio Manager. Energy efficiency is the process of using less energy to produce the same or increased functions. Often used mistakenly as a synonym for ENERGY CONSERVATION. Greenhouse gases are a part of the Earth's atmosphere and are both naturally occurring and the result of human chemical processes. The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluourocarbons. These gases trap heat and thus contribute to the warming of the planet. See also CFCS and GREENHOUSE EFFECT.The ability or potential of a physical body to do work. The most common forms of energy are heat, light, mechanical (moving parts), and electrical.
