Why and How to Benchmark Building Energy Use in Office Buildings - Presented by Felix Flechas, P.E. Environmental Compliance and Sustainability ...
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Why and How to Benchmark Building Energy Use in Office Buildings Presented by Felix Flechas, P.E. Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Engineering, LLC March 2015
Making the case for energy efficiency Energy efficiency improvements of 30% are both achievable and cost-effective. Enhancing the energy performance of properties can: • –Reduce operating costs and therefore increase affordability for operators and tenants • –Increase asset value • –Help meet the demands of tenants for environmentally responsible space options 2
Benefits of Benchmarking • In a recent study of 3 years of data, EPA found that buildings that were benchmarked consistently reduced energy use by an average of 2.4 percent per year, for a total savings of 7 percent over 3 years. • Buildings that started out as poor performers saved even more • Reductions in Green House Gasses follow commensurate energy reductions 3
Consistency is key Benchmarking works best when it’s done consistently over time. – You can’t manage what you are not measuring – Energy trends are seen over time – You can measure and quantify the energy savings achieved by improvements made to your buildings 4
What is Benchmarking • A metric for measuring the efficiency of energy use • Efficiency is not measured as Cost • Efficiency is not measured as Energy at the Building Energy Meter • Efficiency is Measured as the Building’s Energy/Square Foot/Year • This Metric is Transferable When Compared to Buildings with Similar Use 5
The biggest little label in energy efficiency • ENERGY STAR is a symbol of trust, quality, and responsible stewardship of our environment • More than 85 percent of Americans recognize the ENERGY STAR label • Tied with the Good Housekeeping® seal as the most influential consumer emblem in the nation 6
ENERGY STAR provides financial value 7
ENERGY STAR provides financial value 8
Why Benchmark/Certify with Energy Star • Since 1999, tens of thousands of buildings and plants across America -- such as schools, hospitals, skyscrapers, retails stores, and manufacturing plants -- have earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance. • On average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35 percent less energy and cause 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than similar buildings. Energy Star Website. 9
Industry giant Fannie Mae rewards multifamily properties that earn the ENERGY STAR Fannie Mae launched a new pricing reduction that rewards multifamily property borrowers with a lower interest rate rewards multifamily property borrowers with a lower interest rate for properties that have achieved a green building certification, such as EPA’s ENERGY STAR. Other recognized certifications include the U.S. Green Building’s LEED certification and Enterprise’s Green Communities Criteria. For these certified properties, Fannie Mae is granting a 10 basis point reduction in the interest rate of a multifamily refinance, acquisition, or supplemental mortgage loan. For example, if the market interest rate is 4% on the multifamily loan, the new rate is 3.9% with this pricing break. On a $10M dollar loan amortizing over 30 years, the owner would save $95K in interest payments over 10 years. Fannie Mae Multifamily is the leading provider of multifamily financing in the U.S. with a portfolio of over $200B. Interested in learning more? Chrissa Pagitsas, Fannie Mae Director of the Green Initiative, chrissa_pagitsas@fanniemae.com, is available to discuss the Fannie Mae Green Initiative and the Green Building Pricing Break. 10
Porfolio Manager • EPA created ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®, an online tool you can use to measure and track energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. • Use it to benchmark the performance of one building or a whole portfolio of buildings, all in a secure online environment. 11
18 Building Types Eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification (includes Multi-Family, Distribution Centers and Wholesale Clubs) Bank/Financial Courthouses Data Centers Dormitories Hospitals Institutions Houses of K-12 Schools Medical Offices Office Hotels Buildings Worship Retail Stores Senior Care Supermarkets Warehouses Communities 12
Building Types Eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification • Portfolio Manager provides tools for Benchmarking the energy performance of ratable and non-ratable buildings • Buildings that do not fit within the descriptions of these 18 categories are not eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. • Buildings that do not meet the building type definition cannot receive the ENERGY STAR but can be Benchmarked. • To receive an accurate certification score, a building’s use must be correctly designated. 13
The most energy-efficient, i.e., top 25% of U.S. buildings, earn the ENERGY STAR 14
Energy Star Base Requirements for Building Certifications To be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification Building must have ES Score >75 – Energy Star Rating Must include whole building – Primary function must meet the definition of one of the building types that can receive an ENERGY STAR Score – Building attribute data must be correct – Must include complete actual energy use data 15
Energy Star Base Requirements for Building Certifications • To be eligible for certification – Energy Star Rating Must include whole building – Primary function must meet the definition of one of the building types that can receive an ENERGY STAR Score – Building attribute data must be correct – Must include complete actual energy data 16
Building Types Eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification • Buildings that do not fit within the descriptions of ratable building types are not eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. • It’s important that applications meet one of these building type definitions. • To receive an accurate score, a building must be correctly designated. • Buildings that are more than 25% "Other" space types are not eligible to receive a score. • Portfolio Manager provides tools for Benchmarking the energy performance of ratable and non-ratable buildings 17
Office - Attributes Number of PCs Indicates the total number of personal computers and servers in this office space. It includes desktop computers, laptops, and servers. It does not include display monitors, flat screen TVs, tablets, fax machines, etc. Workers on Main Shift Indicates the number of employees who are present during the main shift. This is not the total number of employees or visitors who are in a building during an entire 24 hour period. - Visitors to the building should not be included in the count of workers. - A call center with multiple shifts should only count the employees there on the main or peak shift. Weekly Operating Hours The total number of hours per week that this Office is in operation, excluding hours when the facility is occupied only by maintenance, security, or other support personnel. – “Weekly operating hours” should only include hours when the building is occupied by a majority of the workers. Don’t count hours just because the building systems are running. 18
Office – Floor Area Attribute • Vacant Space – If an Office has an annual occupancy less than 90%, then Portfolio Manager must include a “vacant space” Space Type. This space is designated as Office and must report: – 0 workers – 0 PCs – 0 operating • Gross Floor Area – GFA vs. Leasable Space 19
Vacancy/Occupancy Occupancy requirements for Office building type: – Office, Medical Office, Bank, and Court Space use requires 50% occupancy – Vacant space that comprises more than 10% of the building’s gross square foot should be separately designated and profiled as: “zero” for workers, PCs, and operating hours. 20
Data Center Space Type • Data Center applies to spaces specifically designed and equipped to meet the needs of high density computing equipment, such as server racks used for data storage and processing. • Data center functions may include traditional enterprise services, on- demand enterprise services, high performance computing, internet facilities, and/or hosting facilities. Often Data Centers are free standing, mission critical computing centers. When a data center is located within a larger building, it will usually have its own power and cooling systems. 21
Data Center Space Attribute • The total gross floor area is measured between the principal exterior surfaces of the enclosing fixed walls and includes all supporting functions for the data center. – This is not the same as the “raised floor area” which is a term used to refer to the area of the data center where the servers and IT equipment are located. This equipment is on a raised floor to facilitate coolings (cold air pushed up from below). – The total floor area of the data center for Portfolio Manager includes not only the raised floor area, but also ALL supporting space that is part of the entire data center. 22
Energy for all non‐IT equipment use, including HVAC, lighting, and plug loads Data Center Non‐IT equipment for the data center, such as cooling Energy systems and lighting. into building, A B from all UPS output Sub‐meter fuel meter C PDU sources input meters Building master meter(s) UPS PDUs Server Racks & Storage Devices Figure 1 – Measuring IT Energy Consumption 23
IT Rooms are Not a Data Center The Data Center space is intended for sophisticated computing and server functions; it should not be used to represent a server closet or computer training area. • Server rooms that do not meet the definition of a "Data Center" but have separate cooling systems and operating hours that differ from the rest of the building should be entered as a separate space in Portfolio Manager using the Office space type. In this space, enter the weekly operating hours (typically 168 hours), zero workers, and a number of PCs that includes the count of servers in the space. • All other spaces mentioned here (including server rooms without separate cooling systems, computer training areas, telecom closets, print/copy rooms, and other areas that may have formerly been classified as Computer Data Center but do not meet the current definition of "Data Center") should be included in the total gross floor area input for the building's main space type (e.g., Office). 24
Single Structure • Definition: A structure in which the exterior walls are not substantially and indivisibly connected to any other structure. • A series of buildings situated closely together as a plaza or campus, even if sharing a common heating or cooling source, is NOT considered a single structure, it is considered a campus of buildings. – In this type of arrangement it is necessary to separately meter the energy consumption for each building, and pursue separate energy performance ratings and ENERGY STAR certifications. • Buildings that have multiple towers connected by common concourse levels and/or hallways may present a different situation. In these types of buildings, if there are common areas that cannot truly be divided or separated among the towers, then EPA will consider this to be a single structure. 25
What to do with Retail • Retail Store applies to facility space used to conduct the retail sale of consumer product goods. Stores must be at least 5,000 square feet and have an exterior entrance to the public. • Retail segments typically included under this definition are: Department Stores, Discount Stores, Supercenters, Warehouse Clubs, Drug Stores, Dollar Stores, Home Center/Hardware Stores, and Apparel/Hard Line Specialty Stores (e.g. books, clothing, office products, toys, home goods, electronics). • The total gross floor area should include all supporting functions such as kitchens and break rooms used by staff, storage areas, administrative areas, elevators, stairwells, etc. 26
“Other” Space • It is best practice to include all of a property’s floor area in its ENERGY STAR application. All property uses that do not qualify as one of the 18 types eligible to earn an ENERGY STAR score can be benchmarked as “Other.” Up to 25 percent of the building’s floor area may be benchmarked as “Other.” “Other” space is included in the Benchmarking Score 27
Exclusion Policies 1. Allowable exclusion of actual energy consumption of things exterior to and not related to the operation of the building 2. Parking structures 3. Allowable 10% exclusion of a space type that cannot receive an ENERGY STAR score and “Other” space. 28
Parking Exclusion • The ENERGY STAR score is intended to assess the efficiency of the building, not its parking lot. • How the score treats Parking: When space is entered as Parking, basic engineered assumptions are used to approximate the lighting and ventilation loads associated with parking lots and garages. These calculated amounts are actually excluded from the building’s energy. • When Parking energy is run through a building meter, Parking is added as a Building Space Use 29
How to get your benchmark score • Set up a free and secure Portfolio Manager account • Enter basic property information (name, address, etc.) • Enter property use details • Enter 12 months of utility data • Time required –approximately 20 minutes! 30
Information/Help Links • www.energystar.gov/buildings/training • www.energystar.gov/buildingshelp • Portfolio Manager “Help” link 31
Energy Star Support Building Benchmarking and Certifications • Felix Flechas, P.E., • Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Engineering, LLC • 720-310-0693 • ECSE@Comcast.net 32
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