Building Benchmarking

Building energy benchmarking refers to measuring a building’s energy use (and in some cases water use and waste disposal) and comparing it to the energy use of similar buildings, its own historical energy use, or a reference performance level. Dozens of state and local governments and industry associations have initiated benchmarking policies and programs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that buildings that benchmark energy achieve average annual energy savings of 2.4 percent - resulting in real cost savings for building owners. For example, a 500,000-square-foot office building achieving 2.4 percent savings for three consecutive years could realize cumulative energy cost savings totaling $120,000 and an increased asset value of over $1 million.

The Village of Oak Park is considering a benchmarking ordinance that will apply to buildings larger than 10,000 square feet in Gross Floor Area (“Covered Buildings”). This is expected to be approximately 250 Oak Park buildings. Residential buildings with less than four units are exempted from this policy. 

Every year, Covered Buildings will report their total energy use for the previous year, for the whole building. Energy use for individual tenants will not need to be  reported separately. The data will be reported through the U.S. EPA’s free online tool, Portfolio Manager. Every three years, the Covered Building reports will be reviewed to ensure data quality.

The following year, the Village of Oak Park will publicly report the Building Benchmark report data, including Energy Star scores for the Covered Buildings. This allows the recognition and reward of buildings with superior energy performance.

• Engagements with building owners to finalize the benchmarking policy and program;
• Hands-on workshops to assist in setting up buildings in Portfolio Manager and creating automatic connections to utility data;
• Trainings and how-to guides; and
• A live support online help desk.  

• Midwest Energy Benchmarking (MEEA)
• Evanston Benchmarking Ordinance
• Chicago Benchmarking Ordinance
• Portfolio Manager QuickStart Guide
• Illinois Energy Benchmarking Services and Verification Resources (IL Green Alliance)
• U.S. EPA Benchmarking Toolkit
• ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
• Free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Training Materials