In today's world, where sustainability and energy efficiency are paramount, understanding your building's energy and water performance is crucial. Benchmarking, a process of measuring and comparing a building's performance to similar buildings, is a powerful tool to achieve this goal. By understanding your building's baseline performance, you can identify areas for improvement, track progress, and make informed decisions to reduce energy and water consumption.

What is Benchmarking, and Why is it Important?

Benchmarking involves collecting data on a building's energy and water usage, such as electricity, natural gas, and water consumption. This data is then analyzed to determine the building's energy and water use intensity (EUI and WUI). EUI and WUI measure the amount of energy or water used per square foot of building space. By comparing your building's EUI and WUI to similar buildings, you can assess its relative performance.

Benchmarking provides several benefits:

Identify Opportunities for Improvement: By comparing your building's performance to others, you can pinpoint areas where energy and water efficiency can be improved.

Track Progress: Benchmarking allows you to monitor your building's performance over time and measure the impact of energy efficiency measures.

Make Informed Decisions: Benchmarking data can help you prioritize investments in energy efficiency upgrades and allocate resources effectively.

Comply with Regulations: In many jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, benchmarking is required by law, such as the Existing Building Energy and Water Efficiency (EBEWE) ordinance.

The EBEWE Program and Benchmarking

The EBEWE program, implemented in Los Angeles, mandates that large buildings undergo annual benchmarking of their energy and water use. This program is essential for several reasons:

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: By promoting energy efficiency, EBEWE helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

Conserving Water Resources: The program encourages water conservation measures to address water scarcity issues.

Improving Building Performance: By benchmarking, building owners can identify opportunities to improve their buildings' overall performance.

Understanding Benchmarking Scores

Benchmarking scores typically range from 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating better energy or water performance. A score of 50 represents the median performance for similar buildings. By aiming for a higher score, building owners can improve their energy and water efficiency and reduce operating costs.

AB 802 and Benchmarking

AB 802, a California state law, expands on the concept of benchmarking by requiring large buildings statewide to report their energy use publicly. This transparency measure encourages building owners to improve their energy performance and fosters competition among buildings to achieve higher efficiency.

Conclusion

Benchmarking is a powerful tool for building owners to assess their energy and water performance, identify improvement opportunities, and comply with regulations like EBEWE and AB 802. By understanding their building's baseline performance and tracking progress over time, building owners can make informed decisions to reduce energy and water consumption, lower operating costs, and contribute to a more sustainable future.