ENERGY STAR
2013 ENERGY STAR® National Building Competition
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Questions about the 2013 National Building Competition...Answered!
Can't find the answer to your question here? Email us at buildinqs@enerqvstar.gov.
Eligibility Questions:
1.	Can tenants leasing a portion of a building compete?
Yes! Tenants in multi-tenanted buildings are now eligible to compete, as long as they have access to meter
data for energy used solely in the leased space, and include all such data in Portfolio Manager. The meter data
may include electricity only and/or other sources of energy used in the space.
2.	Can tenants leasing a whole building compete?
Yes! Tenants leasing a whole building are eligible to compete and, as with any whole building, must submit
energy data for all fuel sources for the entire building.
3.	Can tenants leasing space in any type of building compete?
All tenants with access to meter data can compete, with the exception of individual residential tenants, such as
those leasing space in multifamily buildings, senior care facilities, and dormitories. These types of buildings are
eligible to compete at the whole building or campus level.
4.	Are all types of buildings eligible to compete?
Any type of commercial building that can measure energy use intensity in Portfolio Manager is eligible to
compete, as long as you submit energy data for all fuel sources for the entire building (for whole buildings) or
for the energy used in the space (for leased spaces) through Portfolio Manager.
5.	What about industrial buildings?
Industrial buildings are eligible to compete only if 60% or more of the site's energy load is due to non-production
process utility systems, such as lighting, heating, and ventilation. All energy data must be submitted through
Portfolio Manager.
6.	Our building competed in last year's Battle of the Buildings. Can we compete again this year?
Yes, absolutely!
7.	Can facilities with "campuses" compete? We have just one meter for all our buildings.
Yes. Schools, hospitals, hotels, senior care facilities, and multifamily housing can be benchmarked as
campuses. For these building types, enter all meters from all structures on the campus (master meters and any
sub-meters, if applicable) into your Portfolio Manager account. Note that if your building is a college campus,
each building must be individually metered.
8.	Is building eligibility based on the ENERGY STAR score?
No. A building need only report energy use intensity (EUI) to be eligible to compete. This EUI is based on a full
year of data, so an eligible building or space must have complete energy data for calendar year 2012 (January
1, 2012 to December 31, 2012) entered into Portfolio Manager.
9.	Can we compete if the building we manage is not an ENERGY STAR partner?
Yes. For the 2013 competition, any building or space that has the required energy data entered in Portfolio
Manager for the baseline period (calendar year 2012) and submits the data release request by the deadline is
eligible to compete. To join ENERGY STAR as a partner, visit www.enerqvstar.gov/ioin.
10.	Asa service provider; can we enter client buildings or spaces?
Yes. This is a great opportunity to work with the building owner and/or tenants to improve its energy efficiency.
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11.	Is there a minimum square footage/occupant/energy load to apply? How are buildings ranked?
There are no minimum square footage/occupancy/energy load requirements. Buildings and spaces will be
judged based on the percentage reduction in EUI they achieve over one year.
12.	Does the building need to be ENERGY STAR certified to be eligible?
No. This competition is open to all buildings, not just those that have earned EPA's ENERGY STAR.
13.	How much does it cost to apply?
There is no cost to apply or participate in the competition. If you qualify for recognition at the end of the
competition, you'll be required to have your energy data verified by a licensed professional (Professional
Engineer or Registered Architect) to receive official EPA recognition. The Most Valuable Participant winner will
also have to submit copies or proof of their communications materials and activities.
About the Competition
1.	What recognition will be given this year?
The building or space with the greatest percent reduction in weather-normalized source EUI will be declared the
winner. Unique spaces, such as garages, cell towers, toll booths, and tunnels, will not be eligible to win this
award. However, EPA will recognize all buildings and spaces that achieve 20% or better improvement in
weather-normalized source EUI.
New in 2013, EPA will also offer recognition for the Most Valuable Participant - the MVP will demonstrate the
best combination of reduction in energy use and team outreach. To be eligible, competitors must complete a
short electronic scorecard documenting their communications efforts when they submit their midpoint and final
energy use data. The scorecard will be provided by EPA and is available to view at
www.enerqvstar.gov/battleofthebuildinqs. The winning team must also submit proof of their communications
materials.
New in 2013, EPA will also offer Top Tenant recognition - the Top Tenant will demonstrate the greatest percent
reduction in energy use among tenants and must simply register as a tenant at the beginning of the competition
to be eligible for this award. (You can link directly to registration here.)
2.	What kind of publicity will EPA provide?
EPA will chronicle the highlights of the competition through traditional and social media. Competitors are
encouraged to help spread the word among their local publications and affiliated media, and EPA will provide
press release templates and creative materials for competitors to use.
3.	What is the baseline period and improvement period?
The baseline is January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012, and the improvement period (which will be compared
against the baseline) is January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013.
4.	Why is EPA using January 1, 2012 as an energy data start date?
To accurately calculate a building or space's energy performance, Portfolio Manager requires at least 12
months of historical energy data. Therefore, we need two 12-month periods to compare against each other to
judge the competition. To sustain interest and excitement among competitors, we've compressed the public
outreach portion, which is why the competition doesn't officially launch until August 2013.
5.	Will my data be shared or published?
Yes. Data submitted at the start, midpoint, and end of the competition will be posted to EPA's National Building
Competition: Battle of the Buildings website (www.enerqvstar.gov/battleofthebuildinqs). However, EPA will not
publish square footage, total energy use, or zip code.
6.	How often will I need to submit data?
You will be required to submit data three times over the course of the competition, as requested by EPA, at the
start, midpoint, and end of the competition. If you would like to compete for the Most Valuable Participant
recognition, you will also need to submit a scorecard documenting your communications efforts at the midpoint
and end of the competition. The scorecard will be provided by EPA and is available to view at
www.energystar.gov/battleofthebuildings.
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7.	When is the best time to apply for the competition? We're just starting to make energy efficiency
improvements. Should we apply now or wait until next year?
We can't guarantee that there will be a competition next year. We encourage you to apply this year and enjoy
the learning opportunity the competition offers. An important takeaway from past competitions is that we can't
predict how everyone will perform. In past years, some buildings that seemed perfectly poised to make big
reductions didn't, and some that we didn't expect to move at all ended up with double-digit reductions. The
greatest determinant of performance is a strategic, well-executed energy management program.
8.	I submitted the data release report according to the step-by-step instructions. Is that all I have to do to
enter to compete?
Yes, a data release report is all that is needed to enter to compete for the overall winner and 20% improvement
recognition. As long as EPA receives your report before the May 31, 2013, and none of the required fields are
"N/A," your building or space is in the competition. You'll receive a confirmation email in July with a welcome
packet and an invitation to join a Webinar about preparing for competition launch.
NOTE: If you want to be considered for Top Tenant recognition, you must register as a tenant at the beginning
of the competition, so we know who you are! (You can link directly to registration here.)
Portfolio Manager Questions
1.	I haven't started a Portfolio Manager account yet. How long does it take to benchmark a building and
apply for the competition?
That depends on how organized you are and how complex your building or space is. You'll need to enter your
building characteristics and data from your utility bills dating back to January 1, 2012. If you have this
information at your fingertips, it can take as little as an hour.
Please keep in mind, however, that data used in Portfolio Manager reports is updated nightly. Therefore, you
must wait 24 hours after inputting or changing data before you submit the data request report to EPA for the
data to be included in that report.
2.	How do I benchmark my energy use in Portfolio Manager?
There are several useful resources to help you get started. The Benchmarking Starter Kit contains useful
information for collecting the necessary data, creating an account, and inputting your information. If you're a
tenant leasing a portion of a building, please refer to the guidance for tenant spaces in the application
instructions. You can also attend Live and Self-guided Training for help with benchmarking. Lastly, learn more
about the tool by reading an Overview of Portfolio Manager.
3.	What if the building doesn't have consistent occupancy over the competition period?
Given the spirit of the competition, buildings and spaces should be fully operational and occupied, and engaged
in business as usual, for the duration of the competition.
4.	Will there be any verification of the data in Portfolio Manager?
Yes, but only among the recognition categories - this includes the presumptive overall winner, Top Tenant, and
MVP winners, as well as buildings and spaces that achieved 20% savings that would like to receive recognition.
Recognition requires verification of building or space energy use data by a licensed professional engineer or
registered architect. MVP award nominees will also need to submit proof of communication efforts reported in
their electronic scorecards.
Data Release Report Questions
1.	I would like to enter my entire portfolio in the competition. Is there a way to enter a portfolio and submit
reports across a portfolio, rather than building by building?
Yes. Just download and follow the step-by-step instructions from www.energystar.gov/battleofthebuildings. You
can easily choose to enter one, several, or all of the buildings and spaces in your portfolio.
2.	I realized I made a mistake after I submitted my report. Can I resubmit my report?
Yes, as long as you do so by the May 31st deadline. Remember that data used in Portfolio Manager Reports is
updated nightly; therefore, you must wait 24 hours after inputting or changing data before you submit the data
request report to EPA in order for the data to be included in that report
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The resubmitted report will update the previously submitted information with the new data you provide. For
example, if you enter 10 buildings, then correct a data entry mistake for one of them, you can resubmit the
corrected building and only that single building or space will be replaced. The other nine will remain in the
system unchanged.
3.	The instructions say I must provide energy use data for the calendar year (January 1, 2012- December
31, 2012), but my utility bills do not correspond exactly with the days of the month. For example, my
first bill for the year includes my building's energy use for the first half of January and the second half
of December of 2011. How should I enter this information?
In this case, you may need to enter your building or space's energy use data for 13 months instead of 12. In this
example, to complete your data request report for 2012, you will need to enter the data from your first bill (which
contained information from December 2011) as well as the following 12 bills, for a total of 13 bills. Enter the
start and end dates as they appear on the 13 bills. Portfolio Manager will use the full calendar year (12 months)
data and will time-weight any entries that fall partially into the 12-month period of the calendar year.
4.	I entered my building's information into Portfolio Manager, but it doesn't appear in the data request
report.
If you entered your building's information correctly into your Portfolio Manager account, it typically takes 24
hours before you can view the information in the data release report.
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