Use Energy Information Services to
Benchmark with ENERGY STARŪ
Tracking Building Energy Performance
Tracking a building's energy performance provides a building owner or manager with critical knowledge to make improvements to
the building's operations and reduce energy consumption. Energy information services offer a variety of ways to help companies
obtain and organize this valuable energy information. Energy information service providers that have partnered with ENERGY
STAR offer an additional tool to assess the energy performance of buildings: automated benchmarking. ENERGY STAR is the
national symbol for saving the environment through energy efficiency, recognized by more than 65 percent of the American
public. Automated benchmarking allows energy information service providers to provide their customers with ENERGY STAR
energy performance ratings or energy use intensity benchmarks for all their buildings automatically, and to routinely track those
benchmarks through automatic monthly updates over the Internet.
Energy Information Services
Companies today are faced with a number of energy data management challenges, including energy bills from multiple utilities,
no central utility reporting system, the burden of manual data entry, no systematic review for utility errors, and utility deregula-
tion. Energy information service providers help companies overcome these challenges through a variety of energy software and
service products that meet different customer needs including:
> Utility Bill Management: ENERGY STAR automated benchmarking, utility tracking, bill processing and payment, auditing, re-
porting, weather normalization, and error investigation.
> Procurement Services: Utility tariff auditing and comparisons, and contract negotiation.
> Analytical Services: Interval data tracking, greenhouse gas tracking, compliance monitoring, load profiling and control, and
equipment variance analysis.
> Operational Services: Budget planning, conservation programs and strategies. Monitoring and Verification for capital projects,
performance contracting verification, and establishing or discontinuing utility services.
Energy Performance Rating System
The EPA's Energy Performance Rating System is calculated on a 1 to 100 scale based on data incorporating a building's
physical attributes, operating characteristics, weather, climate, and monthly energy consumption. Buildings that rate in the
top 25 percent of facilities in the nation for energy performance can qualify for the prestigious ENERGY STAR label.
ENERGY STARŪ is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program helping businesses
and individuals fight global warming through superior energy efficiency.
Learn more atenergystar.gov.
ENERGY STAR
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Automated Benchmarking Services
Energy information service providers have partnered with ENERGY STAR to include automated benchmarking in their suite of
services. Automated benchmarking offers customers of energy information service providers:
> ENERGY STAR easy-to-understand performance metrics placed side-by-side with other facility information in a service
provider's software interface.
> Regular updates to ENERGY STAR ratings and/or benchmarks without the burden of manual data entry.
> Simplified tracking on the progress of efficiency programs toward both building-level and organization-level EPA recognition
opportunities through the ENERGY STAR Label, Leaders and Challenge.
> Easy accounting and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions at both the building and portfolio level.
Procuring Energy Information Services
Energy information service providers offer their services, including
automated benchmarking, to most commercial and public sector custom-
ers. As an organization considers procuring these services, there are a
number of questions to consider.
> What energy information services are required, and which companies
can provide expertise in those particular areas?
> Which service providers have relevant experience in your industry?
> Do the energy information service providers offer ENERGY STAR
automated benchmarking, and does this offering include assistance in
applying for ENERGY STAR recognition?
To get started, visit the ENERGY STAR Web site which provides articles
and case studies, as well as a list of successful energy information
service providers that are ENERGY STAR Partners offering automated benchmarking. Navigate from www.energystar.gov to
"Buildings & Plants" to "Tools & Resources Library" to "Automated Benchmarking Services" to view this list.
Carbon Emissions
Automated benchmarking is about more than
just energy performance; it is a greatsource of
carbon emissions data as well. Automated
benchmarking uses the Environmental
Protection Agency's Emissions & Generation
Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) to
produce emissions factors consistent with
most major greenhouse gas reporting protocols.
With this feature, automated benchmarking
can help businesses see how their buildings'
carbon emissions compare to others in the
same region and across the country as well as
measure their progress in reducing emissions.
In Focus
By the end of 2007, more than the 30,000 buildings were
rated using automated benchmarking, with more than
1,200 of those buildings earning the ENERGY STAR label.
For more information
www.energystar.gov
orcall1.888.STAR.YES
(1.888.782.7937).
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Air and Radiation
(6202J)EPA430-F-08-019
August 2008
Recycled/Recyclable - Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on Recycled Paper (Minimum 50% Post-consumer Content)
ENERGYSTAR
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