Energy Benchmarking, Auditing, and Upgrading
Tyler Adams (author), Jonathan Rosenbloom & Christopher Duerksen (editors)INTRODUCTION
Energy efficiency initiatives simultaneously help reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while creating a more sustainable building stock. Municipalities use energy benchmarking, auditing, and upgrade requirements in order to encourage property owners to improve buildings in accordance with local sustainability goals. Benchmarking allows prospective and current owners to compare the energy use of various buildings of similar size.[1] Pursuant to these ordinances, owners track their buildings’ energy usage by entering energy use data on a monthly basis into tracking tools, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager. As part of these benchmarking ordinances, municipalities require building owners to annually report a buildings’ energy use data either directly to the responsible local agency or, more commonly, through the Portfolio Manager tool. In addition, most jurisdictions require disclosure of the benchmarking reports, making them available to the public.
Local governments may also require energy audits, sometimes called assessments. Audits require a more extensive analysis of a buildings’ energy use. Audits also require a third-party to perform the audit. A qualified third-party auditor locates the sources of inefficient energy use, which allows owners to identify the measures that can be taken in order to optimize efficiency.[2] There are different levels of comprehensiveness for audits. Municipalities have the option to require audits to meet certain levels and/or include certain criteria that are important for the particular community.[3]
Jurisdictions that require energy audits typically require them to be completed at least once every five years or on the occurrence of a major real estate event, such as a sale, lease, or major renovation. Based on the information gained from energy benchmarking and auditing, municipalities can require buildings to take further steps to become more energy efficient.
EFFECTS
One of the most common ways to generate energy is by burning fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal.[4] This burning process releases potent GHGs and other air pollutants.[5] Commercial buildings are responsible for 19% of the total energy use in the U.S. Increasing the efficiency of buildings would reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned, subsequently decreasing overall GHG emissions.[6] Benchmarking “allows owners and occupants to understand their building’s relative performance, and helps identify opportunities to cut energy waste.”[7] Through continuous measuring of a building’s energy use, owners are able to identify where they are lacking in comparison to other buildings. This drives innovation and can create a more competitive job market with building owners striving to be the most efficient.[8] In addition, a study done by the Environmental Protection Agency indicated that on average buildings that are benchmarked use 2.4% less energy than those that are not, presumably because of increased awareness of energy use.[9]
Requiring periodic energy audits results in further benefits by providing owners with an in-depth analysis on where and how a building is inefficiently using energy. Auditors typically provide a report on what actions can be taken in order to optimize energy use. By following these recommendations, as well as the information gained from benchmarking, building owners can greatly reduce their buildings’ energy use. This can result in lowered utility costs, and by achieving Energy Star certification or a high Energy Star score through the benchmarking process, buildings can become more profitable when sold or leased.[10]
EXAMPLES
Atlanta, GA
The city of Atlanta requires both energy benchmarking and auditing. A covered building for benchmarking purposes is either a City-owned building exceeding 10,000 square feet or a non-city owned building classified as Commercial, Exempt, Preferential, or Conservation Use, and exceeding 25,000 square feet.[11] The ordinance requires owners to benchmark and provide annual reports using the EPA’s Portfolio Manager tool to the responsible City department.[12] The department makes available to the public the benchmarking information of covered properties with energy performances equal to or greater than an Energy Star score of 55.[13]
A covered building for auditing purposes includes City and non-City owned buildings (of the previously mentioned classifications) that have an area greater than 25,000 square feet.[14] An energy audit must be performed once every ten years and a summary audit report submitted.[15] An energy audit is not required to be performed if the building has achieved Energy Star Certification for at least two of the three years preceding the due date for the audit report or their Energy Star score improved at least 15 points.[16]
To view the provision, see Atlanta, GA- Code of Ordinances §§ 8-2222–8-2228 (2016).
Orlando, FL
Orlando enacted its benchmarking ordinance to make accessible comparable building energy usage data, to reduce air pollutant and GHG emissions from energy consumption, to encourage efficient use of energy and water resources, and to promote additional investment in the real estate marketplace.[17] By May 1, 2018 all covered properties, City-owned properties exceeding 10,000 square feet and non-city owned properties exceeding 50,000 square feet, were required to benchmark energy use using EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.[18] The benchmarking has to be performed by a “Qualified Benchmarker” and the property owner is required to annually submit a report through the Portfolio Manager to the director of the City’s Office of Sustainability and Energy.[19] The director then makes public all the shared benchmarking information.[20]
Starting December 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, owners of covered properties that receive Energy Star benchmark scores lower than fifty will be notified and then required to perform an energy audit or retro-commissioning.[21] Retro-commissioning, according to the ordinance, means “a systematic process for optimizing the energy efficiency of existing base building systems through the identification and correction of deficiencies in such systems.”[22] A summary audit or retro-commissioning report is then required to be filed by May 1, 2025, and once every five years thereafter.[23] The ordinance does not require an owner to perform an audit or retro-commissioning if the building achieves an Energy Star score of 50 or higher or improves its score by ten points.[24] If a building satisfies either criteria within that five-year grace period, they will not have to submit a summary report.
To view the provision, see Orlando, FL, Code of Ordinances § 15.03, 15.08 (2016).
ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES
Denver, CO Code of Ordinances § 4-53 (2016) (annual benchmarking and reporting is required for commercial buildings with a gross floor area of 25,000 square feet or larger).
Seattle, WA Municipal Code § 22.920.010 (2010) (non-residential buildings larger than 20,000 square feet are required to benchmark and provide annual reports to the City as well as upon request from current and prospective tenants and potential buyers or lenders).
Austin, TX Code of Ordinances § 6-7-31 (2011) (owners of commercial facilities 10,000 square feet or larger are required to annually calculate an energy use rating for the facility using an audit or approved rating system).
Boulder, CO Code of Ordinances § 10-7.7-3 (2016) (covered commercial buildings are required to annually rate and report their energy use in a manner prescribed by the city manager and perform an energy assessment within the first three years after the first report, and at least once every ten years thereafter).
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Institute for Market Transformation, Jurisdictions, Building Rating, http://perma.cc/5M2R-Y4JK (last visited June 14, 2018).
Energy Disclosure Compliance, WegoWise, http://perma.cc/4HBW-74RT (last visited June 14, 2018).
Institute for Market Transformation, Comparison of U.S. Commercial Building Energy Benchmarking and Transparency Policies, U.S. Commercial Building Policy Comparison Matrix (Apr. 23, 2018), https://perma.cc/CL29-5HPK.
CITATIONS
[1] Sara Mattern, Note, Municipal Energy Benchmarking Legislation for Commercial Buildings: You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure, 40 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 487, 488 (2013).
[2] Tony Liou, What is a Commercial Building Energy Audit?, GlobeSt.com (Oct. 20, 2011), https://perma.cc/3L58-KJFV.
[3] See generally ASHRAE Audit Level 1 2 and 3: What’s the Difference?, SmartWatt (Jan. 10, 2017),https://perma.cc/F2A8-ZPSU.
[4] Energy Use, The Source of Most Carbon Emissions, Climate Communication, http://perma.cc/Y5A8-HSKJ (last visited June 18, 2018).
[5] Id.
[6] Mattern, supra note 1, at 490.
[7] Energy Benchmarking and Transparency Benefits, Institute for Market Transformation, http://perma.cc/CMB8-FC3N (last visited June 14, 2018).
[8] See id.
[9] The Benefits of Energy Benchmarking, SmartWatt (Oct. 31, 2016), http://perma.cc/5JZP-948L; see also Zachary Hart, The Benefits of Benchmarking Building Performance, Institute for Market Transformation 8 (Dec. 2015), https://perma.cc/STL3-ZPFK.
[10] See Hart, supra note 9, at 9-12.
[11] Atlanta, Georgia Code of Ordinances § 8-2002 (2016).
[12] Id. at 8-2222.
[13] Id. at 8-2226.
[14] Id. at 8-2002.
[15] Id. at 8-2227.
[16] Id.
[17] Orlando, Florida Code of Ordinances § 15.01 (2016).
[18] Id. at § 15-03.
[19] Id.
[20] Id. at § 15.05.
[21] Id. at § 15.10.
[22] Id. at § 15.02.
[23] Id.
[24] Id. at 15.08.