energy star lessons from the u.s. on building energy efficiency

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.

• 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

What is ENERGY STAR?

www.energystar.gov

Overview of EPA

Office of the Administrator

Solid WasteAir & Radiation

WaterPesticides & Toxic Substances

Climate Protection Partnerships Division

(CPPD)

EPA’s Voluntary Programs: Resources to Help Achieve Your “Green” Goals

Energy/

Climate Water Solid Waste

Products Education

ENERGY STAR Products, …..but did you know….

ENERGY STARCommercial 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

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

Assessing Energy Performance

National Energy Performance Rating System

Energy Performance

Rating

(1 – 100)

Is 10 MPG high or low for this automobile?

Is 90 kBtu/SF/YR high or low for this building?

Fuel Efficiency

(MPG)

16

≥ 75

a standardized, comparable metric of whole building energy performance

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.

An energy management contest open to ALL Louisville commercial buildings (including commercial real estate, health care, K-12, hospitality, etc.)

Participants benchmark in Portfolio ManagerAwards for:

Greatest Improvement in Efficiency Most Efficient Building with the highest overall efficiency ratingsThe Kilowatt Cup recognizing superior achievements in energy management

Louisville Kilowatt Crackdown

Legislative Efforts

Legislative ResponseLocal 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_1101-1150/

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.

Science Fellow at the American Institute in Taiwan through Nov. 13th

starkAX@state.gov

Anna StarkProgram 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

Contact 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/downloads/2009_EPA_Power_of_Information_Report.pdf