12 Apr The Latest News on Detroit Building Energy Benchmarking

Detroit’s firm decision to enforce obligatory energy and water benchmarking with a transparent reporting policy shows its strong dedication towards sustainability and reducing climate change effects. By closely keeping track of and revealing how much energy and water buildings use, the city hopes to find chances for better efficiency as well as lowering greenhouse gas emissions. 

Policy Overview

The Detroit City Council’s agreement to put the energy and benchmarking policy into action, starting in 2024, shows how dedicated the city is to taking care of its environment. Now, those who own properties will have a responsibility to keep records and reveal the yearly energy and water consumption of their buildings. 

This data for the calendar year 2023 should be ready by October 1st, 2024; then, every year after that, on June 1st, there will be a need for an additional report. The rule is valid for both municipal and private buildings, such as commercial and multifamily ones, that have a gross square footage of over 100,000. Smaller buildings will also need to follow this rule.

Alignment with Climate Strategy

The Detroit Energy Benchmarking is a key part of Detroit’s wide-ranging climate plan. The goal is to decrease the city’s municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 75% before 2034, with full reduction expected in 2050. This strategy has many parts, such as shifting to clean energy sources, speeding up steps for saving energy, and helping vulnerable communities. 

Detroit wants to start measuring how much energy and water buildings use as a way of dealing with its biggest source of greenhouse gases.

Benefits of Benchmarking

Benchmarking buildings is a very important part of trying to make them use less energy and produce fewer greenhouse gasses. The 2023 Detroit Climate Strategy shows that buildings in the city are causing more than 63% of all emissions. Also, research suggests that when you compare how much energy your building uses with others similar to it, usually there is a reduction of around 7%. This shows how effective monitoring can be in helping us save on our energy consumption. 

Owners of properties that are not performing well, along with monitoring their utility use carefully, can decrease the amount they spend on utilities and also lessen waste to make an urban environment more sustainable. Complying with the benchmarking terms and conditions is a complex process and requires professional assistance. Expert consultants at The Cotocon Group stand ready to help you at every step.

Steps to Reporting

By sticking to compliance with the benchmarking ordinance, a systematic method helps in giving precise and productive reports.

1. Creating a Building Profile

The first step is taken by the owner of the property, who creates a full profile of the building through the Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The EPA has approved it and is the standard platform for comparing commercial buildings as per regulatory standards.

2. Accessing Utility Usage Data

Then, the owners of properties bring together comprehensive 12-month utility usage data for their buildings. In this step, they must get hold of records from providers of utilities to make sure that all information is complete and precise.

3. Inputting Usage Data

Property owners input this information into Energy Star Portfolio Manager with great care. At this point, accuracy is very important to create correct benchmarking reports.

4. Connecting and Sharing

In conclusion, the property owners share the building profile with the City of Detroit via the Energy Star Portfolio Manager platform. This step is important for following rules and making clear communication between property owners and rule-making authorities.

Charting Progress towards Sustainability

• The use of this benchmarking policy is completely in line with the overall climate plan for Detroit and clearly shows a path toward meeting emission reduction goals. 
• As buildings cause 63% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city, this benchmarking ordinance becomes very important to monitor and control energy as well as water use. 
• Starting next year, municipal buildings, along with commercial and multifamily structures that have more than 100,000 gross square feet, will be required by law to provide yearly reports about how much energy they are using and the amount of water their building uses. 
• Following this, smaller buildings will also follow the rules for reporting, and they are expected to start doing so in 2025. 

Conclusion

The Detroit Benchmarking policy is a vital component of its overall climate strategy. This city has set an ambitious objective to decrease municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 75% within the year 2034 and reach a complete reduction by 2050. The policy concentrates on buildings, as they are a significant part of these emissions. It aligns with Detroit’s broader sustainability goals. 

Detroit has a good chance to become an example of sustainability. This can motivate and encourage other cities as they work together for a better future that is greener and more enduring.

FAQs

1. What is building energy and water benchmarking?

Building energy and water benchmarking is the procedure of following and revealing a building’s yearly use of energy and water. This method promotes openness, showing where efficiency can be enhanced.

2. Who is affected by Detroit’s benchmarking policy?

The policy is for owners of municipal buildings, commercial buildings, and multifamily structures in Detroit that have at least 100,000 gross square feet. 

3. What are the benefits of benchmarking buildings?

Benchmarking of buildings, which is a process to compare and evaluate the energy performance of different buildings, benefits property owners by allowing them to find their underperforming buildings. It assists in decreasing energy use, lessening utility costs, and avoiding waste – all key elements for making our urban environment more sustainable.

4. How do property owners report their building’s energy and water usage?

Property owners use an organized method: making a building profile with the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, getting the utility usage data, putting in the information correctly, and then sharing the profile of the building through the provided platform to the City of Detroit.