Step 8: Work with the building owner to complete the ENERGY STAR lifecycle
As the project architect or engineer, your reputation as someone who can deliver top-performing buildings depends largely on whether your buildings actually perform. Part of that is commissioning. But the other part is sustained operations and maintenance.
It’s critical to ensure that the building owner or manager operates the building you’ve designed for them efficiently over the next 12 months in order to earn the ENERGY STAR. You’ve already done the first step for them by setting up an account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, EPA’s online energy management and tracking tool. Here, they’ll enter monthly utility bill data. Through regular energy benchmarking, they can stay on top of their building’s performance, identify problems, and verify improvements.
After they’ve entered 12 complete months of data, Portfolio Manager calculates a 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR score for the building. If they’ve kept up good operations and maintenance, this score should match the target score on which you based your design.
To be eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR, the building must earn a score of 75 or higher. If they earn a score lower than 75, recommend that they use ENERGY STAR resources and guidance to improve their building’s energy performance. They should continue benchmarking their building’s energy performance in Portfolio Manager to track improvements over time.