16 Aug What is Energy Benchmarking? And How Does it Help?

Energy benchmarking is crucial for maintaining safety, good living conditions, and better resale value of the building. The decarbonization plan of New York heavily rests on transparent and honest benchmarking practices.  They enable homes and businesses to identify and troubleshoot problems of overconsumption and reduce costs. 

Further, each building comes with its potential, which the benchmarking procedure reveals. It compares the actual performance of the building to its potential for performance. This is necessary for figuring out where room for improvement lies and spotting any broken appliances and systems within the establishment. This article is a breakdown of what is energy benchmarking and its know-how.

Defining Energy Benchmarking

This is the method used to determine whether a building or facility is using more or less energy than its peer establishments with comparable climates, sizes, and occupancies. Benchmarking takes into account the total energy used by the building and divides it by the total area covered by the building. This number represents the energy usage intensity, also known as EUI. This EUi is compared to the other peer buildings to figure out the level of efficiency of energy usage. 

This is a crucial process of auditing and making sure buildings are environmentally competitive. The process of benchmarking is generally based on two sets of data: internal and external. These data sets work together to provide property owners with all the required information about energy usage, from which they can make informed decisions.

What is the process of energy benchmarking?

This is an important procedure that aims to reduce inefficient energy consumption within facilities and establishments. Building owners are required to submit a benchmarking report to verify that their establishment is operational and is not consuming more energy to provide the same basic functionalities as its peer buildings. 

Having higher energy efficiency also increases the value of buildings in the market. Establishments must aim to achieve an Energy Star score greater than 75. This qualifies them to apply for an increased value for leases to the blue Energy Star label.

For submitting the benchmarking report, building owners must verify the following data:

1. Confirm whether the data is accurate at the time of preparation and submission.
2. The variables in the report must be metered and monitored throughout the year, starting from January 1st to December 31st.
3. Owners should use the error checker pre-built in the Energy Star portfolio Manager.
4. They must create the report and fill in the relevant information using the portfolio manager.
5. Owners must update their submission to the latest report filing format according to what the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability prescribes. 

Once owners have filed this information, they will receive an energy efficiency score. The higher the core, the better the grade the building receives. The scores  follow these rules:

A- Buildings scoring more than 85

B- Establishments scoring greater than 70 but lesser than 85

C- Score more than 55 but lower than 70

D- Establishments scoring less than 55

F- Establishments without a benchmarking submission

N- Buildings exempt from benchmarking or not covered under Energy Star 

Local Law 95 of the year 2019 legitimizes these scores and grades. Ideally, building owners should strive for a higher score.

Why should you benchmark your establishments? 

The main advantages of energy benchmarking is that it enables large as well as small owners of property to determine whether their buildings and facilities are at a level of high energy efficiency. If not, they can help owners figure out if these buildings are wasteful or at a level in between the two. For owners of larger properties, benchmarking is necessary to bring to attention matters of energy usage. This is useful in determining which large properties and buildings can use a retro-commissioning or energy auditing process at the moment for their benefit.

Further, the internal and internal data sets of the building help provide building owners with information about the energy and water consumption in the establishment. These include the consumption patterns and all the relevant historical data about peer facilities, which is necessary for benchmarking. Both internal and external data are used to make decisions regarding the energy consumption pattern of the establishments. They help filter out high-energy usage units and get them down to levels that are within the national median. 

What are the practical benefits of energy benchmarking?

Benchmarking builds have several benefits. One of the biggest reasons is that they help move buildings and establishments towards greater sustainability. They also let building owners know if their facilities are performing at a comparable efficiency to other establishments. This is necessary to keep the value of the establishment high in real estate markets. Apart from that, there are more advantages to benchmarking.

1. They save costs during an energy assessment: Shifting to cleaner and renewable energy sources like solar power to generate electricity can help buildings use off-grid power. This, in turn, helps reduce or, in the best cases, completely eliminate supply costs.
2. They provide insights into the living conditions of residents in the building through the analysis of energy consumption: Benchmarking can help identify problem areas in the building. These include broken appliances, HVAC systems, etc., which become barriers to comfort when left untreated. 
3. Benchmarking keeps the resale prices of buildings high: Establishments that maintain regular audits and upgrade to greener technology offer much higher resale value than their unaudited counterparts.
4. Thorough energy consumption analysis helps identify safety concerns such as earthing problems, electrical systems, etc., and prevent major mishaps or accidents.
5. They help buildings and establishments achieve decarbonization and a net zero emission rate.

Conclusion

To comply with the local laws of energy consumption and auditing, it is necessary to keep up with energy benchmarking. If you’re an owner who has yet to file your report or need help with creating a report, contact the team for speedy solutions that help you avoid penalties. The Cotocon Group can help you make your buildings and establishments more competitive in the market by following benchmarking standards and increasing their value.