According to the EPA, buildings consume 40% of the energy used in the U.S. and 72% of the electricity generated. There is a direct link between the amount of energy your library consumes and the annual operating expenses for your building. Once you manage your library's energy consumption and loss, your utility expenditures will go down, allowing funding to be directed to other programs.
Approaches to Energy Management
There are multiple approaches you can take to understand your library’s energy use and potential savings, most of which entail hiring an energy expert to audit your building envelope and provide you with savings, opportunities, and predictions.
But did you know that you and your team can make headway on your own? There are some simple steps that you can take to:
- know your library’s energy performance,
- compare your library to the national averages for energy performance,
- use this energy performance data to make the case for energy efficiency improvements, and
- engage your community along the way; they will appreciate your focus on smart spending!
Benchmarking
You’ve heard the word "benchmarking" in many contexts. For buildings, it refers to a process of gathering data about your building and then entering this data into a database that calculates a rating or metric that can be compared against other similiar buildings.
In 1992 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced ENERGY STAR as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Computers and monitors were the first labeled products. This program has since been extended to buildings.
At the heart of the Energy Star for Buildings Program is Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Energy Star Portfolio Manager is a FREE interactive energy management tool that allows you to track and assess energy and water consumption across your single building or an entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment. If you have ever heard someone say that they are going to benchmark a building, they are likely using ESPM to do so. It is the single standard for benchmarking building energy use in the United States. Legislation is in place throughout the country that requires the use of ESPM.
Beyond individual building and home owners, there are many cities, regions, and even states working to benchmark their buildings. To meet their needs, the EPA has developed the Energy Star Benchmarking Starter Kit.
There is no cost for using these tools. Of course you will need to find staff time to dedicate to your library’s benchmarking project. You may find comfort in knowing that you are in good company when using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Many people seeking building certifications, such as LEED, rely on ESPM for benchmarking, reporting, and managing ongoing energy performance.
Please note before you get started that libraries are not yet recognized as a standard building type. They fall into a category called “other.” But don't fear, through the benchmarking process you will still get the important data that you need for decision making. Because your building is a library you will not receive an Energy Star Rating but you will receive an Energy Use Intensity (EUI). The key difference is that a rating would be a relative number compared to an ideal model of how a building of your type could perform. The EUI is an actual number calculated by taking the total energy consumed in one year (measured in kBtu) and dividing it by the total floorspace of the building.
Getting Started
Now that you have a no-cost power house at your fingertips there are a few things you should do to get started:
- Consider your approach to benchmarking. Do you want to benchmark just your building, or make this a district, county, or statewide effort? You will find that the more buildings you include, the more meaningful the data will be for comparative purposes.
- Identify the person/people responsible for managing your benchmarking project. This could be your facilities person (if you have one), but it doesn’t have to be. Ideally this is a person comfortable with technology and with strong communication and organization skills. S/he will be responsible for gathering data, entering it into Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and relaying the outputs to decision makers.
- Start the data gathering process. The Energy Star Benchmarking Starter Kit is a great place to get familiar with the software and the benchmarking process. To give you an idea of the type of data you will be collecting, the Library Category requires Gross Floor Area, Number of Computers, Weekly Operating Hours, Workers on Main Shift, and 12 months of utility usage data from your electric, gas, or other utility provider(s).
- Set up your Energy Star Portfolio Manager Account and get started!
Tips for Using Portfolio Manager
Create an Energy Star Portfolio Manager Account
- Go to the Portfolio Manager site.
- Locate the login box on the right side of the page and click on “register.”
Space Type
Libraries fall into a category called “Other.” Read more about this type of building online.
Your Benchmarking Report
Once you have submitted all of the required building details, you will be able to produce a Statement of Energy Performance. This report will show how your building is performing. The number that you will want to examine is your Energy Intensity by source and by site. This report also provides you with the national average for buildings like yours, called the National Median Average. You will be able to quickly assess how your building is performing. NOTE: A LOWER energy intensity is better.
Here is a great example of how a district of libraries generated a simple report about building energy performance. With a report like this, important decisions can be made about energy focused capital improvements such as lighting upgrades, weatherization, or operational changes.
Remember that this is just the starting place for understanding your library’s energy performance. Regardless of how your building is performing this data will allow you to prioritize projects. If you find that there is room for your library’s energy performance to improve, it may be time to consider some simple steps like weatherization or a Level I Building Audit, part of which you’ve already completed with your benchmarking project.
Additional Information
For those of you interested in jumping in with both feet or providing additional information to your communities check out what is happening in the U.S. to improve buildings:
- Better Buildings Challenge has a goal to make American buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020 to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, protect the environment, and save billions of dollars in energy costs that can be spent growing businesses, investing in new technologies, and creating American jobs.
- 2030 Challenge has a goal for buildings to become carbon neutral by 2030.
- Living Building Challenge may have the most ambitious effort and is focused on seven performance areas: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty.
In addition to these challenges there are certifications that buildings can attain based on how well they perform. The two most recognizable are LEED and Energy Star.
Learn More!
There is a lot to learn about Energy Star Portfolio Manager. There are some free learning opportunities you can explore. Good luck to you in getting started on the path to greening your library building.
Author: Theresa A. Stroisch, CEO, Sustaining Structures
Established in 2009, Sustaining Structures improves the performance of existing buildings and advises on the development of high performing new buildings. Our focus is resource effectiveness; energy, water, air, and occupants. Headquartered in Seattle, WA, our services include Energy Benchmarking and Compliance, Utility Incentive Discovery, Whole Building Audits, Sustainable Structure Education, and Resource Conservation Management. Sustaining Structures is a certified Energy Star Partner and a member of the USGBC.
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