Over the last decade, according to the EPA, some 9,000 Energy Star partners in the commercial marketplace have offset more carbon dioxide emissions than it would take to power 60-million homes. That’s a big deal — and adds up to roughly 120-million tons of CO2.
Last week, another member of our building science team, Scott Hoover, wrote about the changes coming for residential builders participating in Energy Star for New Homes. This week, we thought we’d take a closer look at the commercial side of things and explain how companies can improve energy performance by participating in the Energy Star Buildings & Plants program.
Although there are a lot of similarities between the residential and commercial Energy Star certification programs, there are also some important differences. Perhaps the biggest is the fact that commercial certification, in most cases, happens after the building is constructed, while new home qualification takes place throughout the construction process.
(Click to enlarge) The EPA’s Portfolio Manager lets companies record and submit energy performance online. Source: Energy Star
The rest of this article will explain the basic steps it takes to achieve Energy Star qualification for an existing commercial building.
To earn commercial Energy Star certification, the previous 12 months’ energy consumption and operational characteristics of a building are recorded (using the EPA’s Portfolio Manager tool) and ranked by the EPA’s National Energy Performance Rating System, a benchmark tool that measures how buildings are performing relative to similar buildings nationwide. A score of 75 or higher (meaning it’s more energy efficient than at least 75 percent of the buildings in the database with similar characteristics) is needed to qualify for the Energy Star program.
If a building scores under 75, an energy audit can help outline energy saving measures that will bring the building within the top 25 percent. Often there are a lot of fairly easy energy saving measures that can help reduce a building’s energy consumption. Each building is different based on the building characteristics and occupancy practices, but some changes are as simple as turning off computer equipment and lights at the end of the day.
Sometimes, saving energy and money is as simple as turning out the lights, and little reminders - like this one in our office at Southern Energy Management - can help.
If addressing the “low hanging fruit” doesn’t do the trick, companies need to start looking at capital improvements. There are a vast number of options at that point – depending on the size, age and physical attributes of the building as well as the budget for improvements and the required return on investment. For some buildings, replacing the HVAC systems might make sense; for others it could be blower door directed air sealing; and for companies that have a high hot water demand , they might consider adding a solar thermal water heating system. The decision about where to invest on improvements really depends on each individual situation and the overall goals of the company. In most cases, though, capital improvements are something the building needs anyway — not just to achieve an Energy Star certification.
Once a building reaches the required score of 75 or higher, a licensed Professional Engineer needs to review the Statement of Energy Performance (generated by the Portfolio Manager tool shown in the photo above) before the building can be certified. A Statement of Energy Performance is a summary of the building’s calculated energy performance, physical characteristics and operating characteristics — and the role of the Professional Engineer is to validate that the energy performance and indoor environment are actually conforming to industry-accepted standards as defined by the Energy Star program.
Once the Statement of Energy Performance is verified and stamped by a Professional Engineer, the company sends that to the EPA for review, and gets put on the national directory. Energy Star then issues the company a plaque, officially certifying the building as an Energy Star building.
Becoming an Energy Star partner for commercial buildings doesn’t just give companies a sign to put on the door — it helps find ways to cut down on utility bills, saving the company and/or building occupants money. For property management companies that lease out space, it can also be a great selling point for potential tenants. Energy Star might not be feasible for every business, but thousands have already taken that step, and more are considering it every year.
Meghan McDermott is a Building Science Engineer at Southern Energy Management. Read more about her here.
thanks for posting an informative piece here on Portfolio Manager/Energy Star process for the commercial side. Hope to see you at SAME SA/SC conference next week!