ENERGY STAR
Lessons from the U.S. on
Building Energy Efficiency
Anna Stark
AIT Science Fellow
U.S. EPA, ENERGY STAR Buildings
Presented to TEPA
Oct. 2009
3 Take Away Points
• Existing Buildings = Opportunities to reduce
carbon NOW
• Benchmark, Benchmark, Benchmark!
• A “green” building isn’t necessarily energy
efficient. Remember the importance of
operations & maintenance.
What is ENERGY STAR?
• Voluntary climate protection
partnership with EPA
• Strategic approach to energy
management, promoting energy
efficient products and practices
• Helps organizations save money
and protect the environment
• Influential brand recognized by
over 75% of Americans
www.energystar.gov
Overview of EPA
Office of the Administrator
Air &
Radiation
Pesticides & Toxic
Substances
Water
Solid Waste
Climate Protection
Partnerships Division
(CPPD)
EPA’s Voluntary Programs: Resources to
Help Achieve Your “Green” Goals
Energy/
Climate









Products
Education


Water
Solid
Waste








ENERGY STAR
Products, …..but did you
know….
ENERGY STAR
Commercial Buildings
Take Away Point #1
• Existing Buildings = Opportunities to reduce
carbon NOW
Why Focus on Existing Buildings?
• Commercial buildings and industrial facilities
generate about 50 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide
emissions (more than transportation).
• On average, 30 percent of energy consumed in
commercial and industrial buildings is wasted.
• Reductions of 10 percent or more in energy use
can be possible with little or no cost.
Why Focus on Existing Buildings?
• Energy consumption is one of the single largest
controllable costs
• Financial returns from efficiency efforts can be
leveraged for future “green” investments
Why Focus on Existing Buildings?
Source: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/comm_real_estate/downloads/BOMAKingsleyNewsletter.pdf
Take Away Point #2
• Benchmark, Benchmark, Benchmark!
Value of Benchmarking
A benchmark is a point of reference
from which to make comparisons
Portfolio Manager
• Free on-line benchmarking tool for all buildings
• Track energy use
–
–
–
–
•
•
•
•
•
Weather normalized source EUI
National average comparisons
Comparison to custom baselines
Energy performance ratings (for selected spaces)
Track energy costs
Track carbon emissions
Track water consumption
Customized dashboard and data sharing
Apply for ENERGY STAR recognition
www.energystar.gov/benchmark
Assessing Energy Performance
How do your buildings compare to others?
In the past, a standardized, comparable
metric of whole building energy
performance did not exist
EPA introduced the Energy Performance
Rating System to meet this need
National Energy Performance
Rating System
Is 10 MPG high or low for this
automobile?
Fuel
Efficiency
(MPG)
Is 90 kBtu/SF/YR
high or low for this building?
Energy
Performance
Rating
≥ 75
(1 – 100)
a standardized, comparable metric of
whole building energy performance
16
Benchmarking – The Key to Energy
Savings in Buildings
Benchmarking through ENERGY STAR allows you to:
• Track cost, energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions
savings
• Compare one building against a national sample of similar
buildings
• Compare all of your buildings of a similar type to each other
• Set priorities and better plan for investments in upgrade
efforts and retrofits
Building Rating - Technical
Foundation
• Use billed energy data
– Specific technology does not guarantee good
performance
– Must monitor energy data over time
• National survey data
– For fair peer group comparison need statistically
representative data set of US Commercial Buildings
– Energy Information Administration’s Commercial Building
Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)
• Compare Similar Buildings
– Perform analysis based on primary building activity (i.e.
Office, Retail, School)
Building Rating – Technical
Foundation
• Normalize for Operating Characteristics
– adjust for characteristics that cannot be controlled by the
owner (e.g., Operating hours, occupant density, weather)
– do not adjust for characteristics that can be controlled by
the owner (e.g., type of lighting technology used)
• Create 1 to 100 scoring range
• Award top performers
– Buildings with a rating of 75 or higher can earn a label
Benchmarking and Labeling Activity
Gain Momentum
Voluntary Efforts
ENERGY STAR Partners
ENERGY STAR Partner Associations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
CoStar (Commercial Building Multiple Listing Service)
American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA)
National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE)
US Conference of Mayors
National Association of Counties (NACo)
International Community Bankers Association (ICBA)
National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
National Small Business Association (NSBA)
American Bar Association (ABA)
. . . and many more.
Louisville Kilowatt Crackdown
An energy management contest open to ALL Louisville
commercial buildings (including commercial real estate, health
care, K-12, hospitality, etc.)
Participants benchmark in Portfolio Manager
Awards for:
Greatest Improvement in Efficiency
Most Efficient Building with the highest overall efficiency ratings
The Kilowatt Cup recognizing superior achievements in energy
management
Legislative Efforts
Legislative Response
Local Legislation
• Borough of West Chester, PA: Borough Ordinance
• District of Columbia: Clean & Affordable Energy Act of 2008 – (public
disclosure)
• City of Denver, CO: Executive Order 123 - (new construction)
• City of Austin: Ordinance – (public disclosure)
• New York City [PENDING] – (public disclosure)
State Legislation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
State of CA: AB 1103, 2007 – (public disclosure)
State of IL: SJ 27, 2007
State of MI: EO 2005-4, 2005
State of MN: Next Generation Energy Act, 2007
State of OH: EO 2007-02
State of VA: EO 48, 2007
State of WA: State Bill 5854 - 2009-10 – (public disclosure)
New Trend: Public Disclosure of
Environmental Performance
Washington, D.C. – Benchmarking and
Disclosure for Existing Commercial Buildings
Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008
Beginning in 2010, requires eligible privately-owned
commercial buildings be benchmarked using Portfolio
Manager on an annual basis.
Energy performance results will be published on a publicly
available online database.
More at:
http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20080819161530.pdf
California – ENERGY STAR Disclosure During
Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Assembly Bill (AB) 1103
By January 1, 2009, requires all utilities to make
available data for uploading into Portfolio Manager
upon the request of any commercial building owner.
By January 1, 2010, requires the disclosure of an
ENERGY STAR rating and energy use data as part
of commercial real estate transactions involving the
sale, lease, or financing of a whole building.
More at:
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_11011150/ab_1103_bill_20071012_chaptered.pdf
New York City – Proposed Benchmarking and
Disclosure for Existing Commercial Buildings
Proposed Int. No. 476-A (Introduced to City Council on
April 22, 2009)
Would require eligible privately owned buildings over
50,000 gross square feet of built area and all municipal
buildings greater than 10,000 gross square feet to
benchmark in Portfolio Manager.
Energy performance results to be published on a
publicly available online database in 2011 for City
buildings, 2012 for private non-residential buildings, and
2013 for multi-family buildings.
More at: www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/plan/buildings_plan.shtml
The Power of Information
• December 2008 EPA Workshop
– Help policy-makers understand the power of energy efficiency
information to motivate
• Discussion/ Findings
– Huge potential for cost-effective energy efficiency is substantial
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
– The use of building-level energy use information as an effective
energy management tool is growing
Findings continued
– Simple, comparable energy performance benchmarks for
commercial buildings can be powerful motivators for change,
leading to substantial energy efficiency improvements within
public and private organizations.
– A growing number of local and state governments are
addressing the existing building stock by calling on commercial
building owners/operators to benchmark the energy performance
of their buildings and make the results available to the public
and/or upon sale or lease of the building.
– Easy-to-understand, broad metrics should be the first layer of
information for all stakeholders, regardless of where/when this
information is available (e.g., building lobby, Web site, upon sale
or lease of the building).
New! Certificate for Display
– In addition to existing
Statement of Energy
Performance report
– Other disclosure
efforts on way in the
US (LEED, ASHRAE,
public web sites)
Canada Adopts Portfolio Manager
• Canada is an International ENERGY STAR
Partner
• Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced
it will adopt Portfolio Manager as platform for
Canadian building labeling
Take Away Point #3
• A “green” building isn’t necessarily energy
efficient. Remember the importance of
operations & maintenance.
Elements for Energy Efficiency
• Good Design
–
–
–
–
–
Set an energy target
Right size building systems
Tight envelope
Controls and metering
Smart choice of green attributes
• Quality Construction
• Commissioning
• Proper building energy management!
ENERGY STAR Rating for LEED
Certified Buildings
Operations and Maintenance
Matters!
1900 K Street, Washington DC
 New Construction (1996) with energy efficiency in mind but
oversized equipment
 EPA Rating
 In 1999  32
 In 2006  78
 Harnessed building automation systems to improve
efficiency




VFDs on chillers to match measure demand
Improved operating standards – static pressure set points
Continuous tracking of energy use using EPA’s rating system
Improvements to lighting systems
 Savings reflect synergy between building technology and
energy management practices
3 Take Away Points
• Existing Buildings = Opportunities to reduce
carbon NOW
• Benchmark, Benchmark, Benchmark!
• A “green” building isn’t necessarily energy
efficient. Remember the importance of
operations & maintenance.
Contact Information
Science Fellow at the American Institute in Taiwan through Nov. 13th
starkAX@state.gov
Anna Stark
Program Manager
ENERGY STAR Commercial Property Markets
Climate Protection Partnerships Division, US EPA
(202) 343-9184
stark.anna@epa.gov
Visit www.energystar.gov for more information
Open Discussion about
Taiwan and US Green Building Efforts
APPENDIX
Inputs to Portfolio Manager
• Portfolio Manager provides a platform for
regular tracking of key utility information
• Energy
– Monthly energy bills
– 19+ fuel types
• Water
– Monthly water consumption
• Energy Cost
– Monthly energy cost
Outputs
• Portfolio Manager converts raw monthly data into useful
parameters that can be tracked monthly, quarterly, or
annually
• Available Metrics:
– Site Energy
• Energy usage reported on utility bills
• Annual total and annual intensity (per square foot)
– Source Energy
• Total primary fuel consumption
• Annual total and annual intensity (per square foot)
• Separate weather-normalized value accounts for deviations from the
30 year average conditions
– ENERGY STAR Rating
• 1 to 100 rating scale for select buildings types
• Percentile of performance relative to the US Commercial Building
Population
Outputs
• Available Metrics (con’t)
– GHG Emissions
• Direct, indirect, and total emissions
• Reported in metric tons CO2 equivalent
– Water Consumption
• Annual total and annual intensity (per square foot)
• Separate totals for indoor and outdoor use
– Energy Cost
• Total energy cost and cost per square foot
Value
• Track the performance of a single building
– Update energy, water, and cost information regularly
– Evaluate changes from one period to the next
– Set targets for improvement
• Compare buildings within an organization
– Enter all buildings into Portfolio Manager
– Use “My Portfolio View” to track metrics at all facilities
simultaneously
– Set goals for improvement
– Target investment based on relative performance
• Compare buildings with others
– Share facilities with partner organizations or associations
• Electronic sharing features
– Use the energy performance ratings (where available) for
comparison with the US commercial building population
Limitations
• Metric Units
– Predominately US units
• Some metric units are available
– Intensities are reported on a per square foot basis
(not square meter)
• Emissions
– Indirect emissions are based on US electrical grid
• These will not be accurate for other countries
– Direct emissions are based on standard combustion
and equipment efficiencies
• These will be fairly accurate for all users
Limitations
• Source Energy
– Source energy conversions are based on the US electric grid
and US domestic natural gas production and consumption
figures
– Source energy will not provided an accurate assessment of
primary fuel consumption in other countries
• Weather Stations
– There is a limited set of weather stations outside the US,
presented in a pick list of countries in Portfolio Manager
– Buildings located outside of these cities will not have accurate
weather data
• This is a limitation for the rating and for the weather normalized
fields
– There is no impact to tracking of energy, cost, and water
Limitations
• Rating
– The rating is based on the US Building population
– Comparison may be impacted by regional practices
• Country with different standards may be systematically better
or worse (rate high or low)
– Comparison is acceptable as a reference but source
energy values are based on the US commercial
production and consumption
• Values do not show the true primary fuel consumption, but the
primary fuel consumption if the building were located in the US
– Weather adjustments
• Buildings located outside of cities in Portfolio Manager will not
have accurate weather data
• Weather adjustments in the model are based on US building
performance
– May be systematic difference in buildings located in different
regions of the world
Findings from Disclosure Workshop
•
Final report posted at
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/do
wnloads/2009_EPA_Power_of_Informati
on_Report.pdf