Energy Star keeps it cool for counties

In May, NACo released a new report, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager: Tracking County Energy Savings and Emissions Reductions that explores how NACo is helping 97 counties track energy and water consumption for more than 2,079 county-owned buildings using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. It also highlights the benefits counties have seen using the tool, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage.

ENERGY STAR is a free suite of products from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy that has helped reduce energy and water demands in residential and commercial buildings since 1992. Each year, the program saves more than $9 billion in energy costs and prevents nearly 135 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. County-owned buildings of all sizes and ages including courthouses, office buildings and fire stations have used ENERGY STAR tools.

Through Portfolio Manager, users receive a score of 1–100 to indicate how an individual building performs against similar facilities nationwide. The score accounts for differences in operating conditions, regional weather data and other important considerations. Buildings with a score of 75 or higher are eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, which is renewed annually to ensure that the building is maintaining high levels of performance. Mohave County, Ariz. has 10 ENERGY STAR certified buildings, the most out of the 97 counties NACo helps track through Portfolio Manager.

Building managers can use Port-folio Manager to track important operational data across all of their build-ings, comparing current performance with historic information, a process known as benchmarking. Two of the most useful benchmarking data are total Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity and Weather Normalized Site Energy Use Intensity.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide gases are released into the atmosphere as a result of energy consumption at most buildings in the United States. Across all county properties in Portfolio Manager, nearly 46 percent have a GHG emissions intensity at or below the national median, meaning that county buildings have successfully been reducing their GHG emissions.

Weather-normalized site energy-use-intensity (EUI) measures the amount of  energy use one can expect to see on a building’s utility bill given normal weather conditions, i.e., if  there is not a significant heat wave in the summer or a milder-than-average winter. Weather-normalized site EUI can help property managers understand how utility bills have changed over time, when the effect of weather is taken into account. Nearly 45 percent of county buildings have a weather--normalized site EUI at or below the national median. 

Across all building types in Port-folio Manager, county courthouses have seen the greatest reduction in both GHG emissions intensity and weather normalized EUI.

The online Portfolio Manager tool is free to use and enables counties to track their energy and water consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions. By setting benchmarks, counties can compare current data for one building or an entire suite with past performance, and they can also see how their energy and water usage compares to similar buildings throughout the country.

For more information on how your county can get involved with ENERGY STAR portfolio manager, contact Rob Pressly, NACo program manager, at rpressly@naco.org or 202.942.4224.