Benchmarking & performance.
EUI, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, weather normalization, measurement and verification, and building performance standards.
IPMVP Option C baseline adjustments: routine, non-routine, and the utility data behind them
IPMVP Option C measures savings at the whole-facility meter, so every baseline adjustment depends on utility data. Routine and non-routine adjustments, static factors, documentation.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager data quality: the checks that keep scores and reports defensible
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager data quality decides whether a score, an EUI and a benchmarking submission survive review. The checks, the upstream causes, and a pre-deadline checklist.
ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit: what it includes and what data it needs
An ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit under Standard 211 adds an end-use breakdown and costed measures to a Level 1. What it delivers, who requires it, and the utility data to have ready.
Energy data for cold storage and food and beverage sites
Refrigerated warehouses and food plants are among the most energy-intensive facilities there are. Here is how to collect and benchmark the data behind them.
Detecting anomalies in energy consumption data
Baseload creep, equipment left on, after-hours spikes, and meter faults hide in your interval data. Here is what an energy anomaly is, the simple detection methods practitioners actually use, and why clean, complete data comes first.
Automating ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager: keeping utility data current
Portfolio Manager scores are only as good as the monthly meter data behind them. Here is how to keep every meter, every month, current without hand keying bills across a portfolio.
Using utility data in RETScreen: getting clean, complete consumption and cost data ready to import
RETScreen Expert only works as well as the utility data you feed it. Here is what the performance analysis and M&V module needs, why weather normalization and a clean baseline matter, and how to stop hand-keying numbers off bills and portals.
Building tune-ups: low-cost operational fixes, verified with data
What a building tune-up inspects and corrects, the low and no-cost operational fixes it finds, reporting cycles, and how weather-normalized utility data proves the savings.
The energy KPIs facility teams should track from utility data
The energy KPIs facility teams should track from utility data, from peak demand and load factor to cost avoidance, plus how to set targets and build a simple monthly scorecard.
Monitoring-based commissioning: keeping savings from fading
Monitoring-based commissioning uses continuous meter data to sustain savings that one-time retro-commissioning lets fade. What it costs, what it saves, and the data pipeline it needs.
Fault detection and diagnostics: what meter data adds to building FDD
How meter and interval data complements BAS fault detection and diagnostics: catching baseload creep, simultaneous heating and cooling, and scheduling faults, plus the savings FDD delivers.
Using utility data to plan building electrification
Electrification lives or dies on the details in your utility data. Learn how load profiles, fuel splits and peak demand reveal whether a building is ready to switch.
Reading load profiles: baseload, peak and load factor
A load profile shows how a building actually uses power through the day. Learn to read baseload, peak demand and load factor, and what each one tells you about cost.
Energy benchmarks compared: CBECS, ENERGY STAR, BOMA
CBECS, ENERGY STAR and BOMA BEST answer different questions. Here is what each benchmark measures, how the scores are built, and how to use them together.
Building a net-zero roadmap from your utility data
A credible decarbonization plan starts with the bills you already have. Here is how to turn utility data into a baseline, a marginal abatement plan, and a verified path to net zero.
ASHRAE energy audit levels 1, 2 and 3 explained
ASHRAE defines three audit levels, from a walk-through to an investment-grade study. Here is what each one delivers, what it costs you in effort, and how to choose the right depth.
Heating and cooling degree days in energy analysis
Degree days turn weather into a number you can put next to your energy use. Here is how HDD and CDD are calculated, which base temperature to pick, and how to normalize consumption correctly.
How to improve your ENERGY STAR score
Your ENERGY STAR score compares your building to its peers on a 1 to 100 scale. Here is what actually moves it, where the quick points are, and why clean data comes first.
NYC Local Law 97: Emissions Caps, Fines, and the 2030 Tightening
Which NYC buildings are covered, the 2024 to 2029 versus 2030 carbon limits, the $268 per ton penalty, and the data owners must track.
Which Buildings to Retrofit First: Using Portfolio Data to Prioritize Capital
When you own fifty buildings and can fund five projects a year, the hard question is not what to fix but where to start. Here is how to use EUI, cost intensity, benchmarks, and outlier analysis to rank a portfolio and spend capital where it returns the most.
Measurement and Verification with IPMVP: Did the Retrofit Actually Save Energy?
A retrofit that looks like a win on the invoice can be a mirage once weather and occupancy shift. IPMVP is the discipline that separates real savings from noise. Here are options A, B, C, and D, baselines, adjustments, and the avoided-energy idea at the centre of it all.
Weather Normalization: Why Year-Over-Year Energy Comparisons Mislead
A warm winter can hide a failing retrofit, and a cold one can erase a real gain. Here is how heating and cooling degree days work, how weather normalization is done, and when it matters for benchmarking and measurement and verification.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in Canada: A Practical Setup Guide
How to stand up ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager the Canadian way: what the NRCan-adapted tool measures, which property types earn a 1-100 score here, and the meter and data steps that decide whether your benchmark is trustworthy.
Energy use intensity (EUI), explained: the one number every building owner should track
EUI turns a building's messy energy history into a single, comparable number. Here is exactly how it is calculated, how it relates to the ENERGY STAR score, and why the data behind it is where most teams struggle.
24 articles in Benchmarking & performance