Using Utility Bill Management for ENERGY STAR® Reporting
Initiatives to improve energy efficiency in buildings across the U.S. are becoming more prevalent as cities, states and businesses look for ways to achieve their sustainability goals for a carbon-free future. Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of the energy consumed in the United States and over 30 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.1
In 2010, New York City was the first U.S. city to require annual energy and water consumption reporting. Many other cities have followed including Washington D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia, requiring businesses to track their energy consumption and some also require yearly reports. Businesses can choose to participate in ENERGY STAR® voluntarily if mandates aren’t in place yet for their city or state.
Energy benchmarking is reported using ENERGY STAR® to measure a building’s energy use and compare it to the energy use of similar buildings, its own past energy use, or previous levels of performance.
What is ENERGY STAR®?
ENERGY STAR® is a joint program developed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to promote the environmental and economic benefits of saving energy using energy efficient products and practices. The ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® tool captures the cost and energy consumption information from a building’s utility bills and then measures the performance of that building against the national average for similar building types.
Depending on the main function of a building, ENERGY STAR® uses an algorithm to rate the building from 0 to 100. Once your building has been benchmarked, you’ll need a rating of 75 or higher to receive an ENERGY STAR® certification.
Benchmarking data is publicly disclosed via an online database and shows building owners’ efforts to reduce emissions and improve the local air. Environmentally conscious investors, tenants and other stakeholders may look to this data prior to investing or signing a lease to see a building manager’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
An ENERGY STAR® rated building is also preferred over a building that hasn’t been upgraded with energy efficiency improvements, because an upgraded, more efficient building should provide savings each month on energy bills. Pulling utility bills together each month from several buildings and organizing the data on spreadsheets into Portfolio Manager is a time-consuming process. Constellation’s Utility Bill Management Platform can help organize all that data and compile monthly reports for ENERGY STAR®.
The Utility Bill Management Platform and ENERGY STAR® reporting
Cities and businesses around the U.S. that want to improve the sustainability status of their buildings and/or meet city or state mandates can take advantage of Constellation Navigator’s Utility Bill Management platform. The Utility Bill Management platform helps you digitize your utility invoice data and package it specifically for ENERGY STAR® reporting. As the platform collects invoice data over time, your team can easily complete routine ENERGY STAR ® reporting without needing to manually gather data in spreadsheets year after year. The platform can provide site, property, and meter editing as well as monthly energy updates, providing facility managers information on their buildings and where they can be more energy efficient.
Constellation Navigator and the Utility Bill Management platform can give meaning to all of your energy data and seamlessly help with your ENERGY STAR® reporting needs. To start proactively taking control of your energy data, contact us today.
- https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=86&t=1
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