While benchmarking may not yet be mandatory across the country, its benefits are clear. Over the past few months, we completed benchmarking energy use in over nine million square feet of commercial space in New York to meet the August 1 deadline for compliance with the state’s Local Law 84. So what’s next for benchmarked buildings in New York and across the country? Well, it’s time to use the data and perhaps secure some valuable funds.
Buildings that have benchmarked their energy use through ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager should log into the website to access their scores. While many factors affect scores, in general scores below 90 indicate a potential for improvement. Knowing where you stand as compared to similar buildings will help you improve your energy efficiency management. For New York buildings, it will also help them look ahead to the next compliance requirement –Local Law 87.
Since it can be difficult to pinpoint areas where energy waste might be happening, if you are new to benchmarking, you should start by tracking your data in detail on two fronts:
- A Metrics platform, which allows you to see year to year performance figures.
- ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager, which allows you to see your data ranked against a large pool of nationwide information.
Your metrics data easily feeds into ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager. So start benchmarking now. It is a hallmark of every good energy management policy.