ENERGY STAR overview
ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntary program helping businesses and individuals save money and protect our environment through superior energy efficiency.
Portfolio Manager
- Is an online tool hosted by EPA's ENERGY STAR program to measure and track basic energy, water, and waste consumption.
- Compares your building to others and benchmarks performance.
- May be required by local, state, and federal legislation.
An ENERGY STAR score, expressed as a number on a 1-100 scale, rates performance on a percentile basis: buildings with a score of 50 perform better than 50% of their peers; buildings earning a score of 75 or higher are in the top quartile of energy performance. First introduced in 1999, the score has been adopted by leading organizations across the United States because it offers a simple way to evaluate measured energy use, prioritize investments, and communicate relative performance across a portfolio of buildings.
The ENERGY STAR score is developed by the EPA using nationally representative data sets that include information on buildings in diverse locations and with diverse physical and operational characteristics. One of the most common surveys used by the EPA is the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), which is conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's, Energy Information Administration. The EPA uses CBECS data as the basis for most of the ENERGY STAR scores. However, the EPA also uses other data sources when CBECS data is insufficient.
Basic requirements
Currently over 20 property types can receive ENERGY STAR scores. To receive an ENERGY STAR score in Portfolio Manager, you must enter:
- 12 full calendar months of energy data for all energy types.
- Enter data on your property's use details such as weekly hours of operation and number of workers.
When to exclude meters from ENERGY STAR submission
The best practice is to include all of a property's energy use when benchmarking. However, here are a few examples of energy that may make sense to exclude (provided it is sub-metered) from your property:
- Cell towers
- Parking garages
- Electric vehicle charging stations
- Outdoor, heated pools
- A large billboard or projection screen on a building (or in your parking lot) when the sign is not related to the use of the building. (A sign displaying the company's name, or anything related to the business MUST be counted.)
- Trash compactors
ENERGY STAR score
Why might a building not receive a score?
- To get a score, at least 50% of the property's gross floor area must be a scorable space type.
- 12 full calendar months of billing data are required.
- There cannot be any gaps, overlaps, or duplicate bills.
Permissions
Only specific user roles and permissions can edit settings or submit data.
The Run permission is required to Submit ENERGY STAR data and view ENERGY STAR activity.
The Manage permission is required to edit ENERGY STAR settings.