 With more aggressive efficiency program savings targets and increased corporate and institutional focus on energy efficiency as a backdrop, CEE members came together on June 2 in Boston for a day long Ask the Experts Whole Building Benchmarking Workshop. Along with an EPA representative from the ENERGY STAR® program, five commercial program managers shared program experiences about the value of benchmarking services and delivery approaches. In discussing the value streams, delivery options, and program considerations, the workshop participants laid important groundwork that will support CEE members in future whole building performance program planning and development.
Tracy Narel, Manager of Commercial and Industrial Utility Partnerships with ENERGY STAR, kicked off the workshop by characterizing the value of ENERGY STAR benchmarking for efficiency programs. He provided context on the uptake of ENERGY STAR benchmarking in the U.S. market by various market sectors. As of 2008, over 11 billion square feet of U.S. commercial building space had been benchmarked using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. In addition to increased support from energy efficiency programs, private energy service providers, portfolio property managers, state and city governments, and trade associations among others, are using or promoting ENERGY STAR benchmarking to meet a host of objectives.
Skip Schick, Senior Manager of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) BetterBricks program, honed in on the strategic benefits of benchmarking to programs. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” he stated simply.
“Benchmarking is a catalyst for action,” Mr. Schick explained. “Often the benchmarking results surprise property managers and owners. This leads to questions about energy use, opportunities to improve, and the costs and benefits involved. Low cost and no cost energy management opportunities are often quickly capitalized on, and this can lead to greater participation in utility programs, greater demand for trade ally services, and a more strategic approach to energy management.”
Mr. Schick shared examples of how NEEA and energy efficiency programs in the Northwest are leveraging benchmarking through competitions, such as the “Kilowatt Crackdown” in the Puget Sound area of Washington State and Portland’s “Office Energy Showdown.” In recent evaluations, the competitions alone have resulted in over one MW of energy savings, which does not include any savings associated with traditional utility energy efficiency programs, e.g., rebates for high efficiency equipment.
 With the benefits of benchmarking clearly defined, four additional programs shared how they are incorporating benchmarking into their programs. All of the presenters agreed that the push for more savings and regulatory action were strong drivers for the incorporation of benchmarking into their programs and called out working with ENERGY STAR and the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as keys for success. “It’s coming,” said Peter Turnbull, Principal Strategic Planner with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), of the state and other policy drivers for benchmarking moving across the United States and Canada.
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Anita Hagspiel, Principal Analyst and Program Manager with National Grid, emphasized the quality, long-term relationships National Grid has built by incorporating benchmarking into their Whole Building Assessment program. Ms. Hagspiel showcased National Grid’s work with the Town of Andover as a prime example of the relationships and partnerships they were able to build with town officials and facilities staff, other utilities, and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
Kim Lenihan, Senior Project Manager with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) echoed Ms. Hagspiel’s emphasis on the importance of partnerships. For successful projects, “NYSERDA emphasizes building strong public-private partnerships and developing resourceful providers to work with a dedicated customer-based internal champion,” Ms. Lenihan advised.
Ms. Lenihan discussed how NYSERDA is using benchmarking both as a tool to accelerate energy efficient actions and as an entry point into efficiency programs. At the same time, she shared some of the barriers to benchmarking. Because NYSERDA is not a utility, it is challenged by a lack of easy access to energy consumption data. And, like many utility and nonutility programs in areas where no benchmarking mandate exists, NYSERDA struggles with balancing a program approach they are confident yields energy savings with regulatory requirements for clearly quantifying both the energy savings and the persistence of the savings.
The final two presentations focused on developments in California and Illinois where legislative and regulatory drivers have created the need for utilities to significantly ramp up benchmarking support and develop automated benchmarking systems. Kevin Bricknell, Energy Data Service Manager for Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), shared ComEd’s experience building an automated benchmarking system over a period of just a few months after manually providing customers with energy consumption data for a number of years. Peter Turnbull built on Mr. Bricknell’s experience by sharing PG&E’s response to the many legislative mandates coming out of California.
Both Mr. Bricknell and Mr. Turnbull agreed that automation of data transfer into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or a custom tool is paramount when a utility is required to provide information for larger numbers of customers. Both also agreed that promotion of the system and training building owners and managers to set up their buildings for automated data transfer is important to getting the most out of the automated system.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the group began to distill the key points from throughout the day and suggested that through CEE, they could capture the program experiences, strategies, and guidance related to benchmarking to inform future program planning and design. The Whole Building Performance Committee will be drafting this guidance through regular calls going forward. If you are interested in learning more about benchmarking or participating in the development of this guidance, contact Jason Erwin, CEE Commercial Team Lead and Senior Program Manager, for more information: jerwin at cee1.org.
Presentations from the workshop are available online at http://www.cee1.org/cee/mtg/06-09mtg/index.php3. For more information about future workshops, Ask the Experts webinars, and CEE events, please contact Casey Erisman, cerisman at cee1.org. |
