DataTrends Research

DataTrends is an ongoing series of original research and analysis from ENERGY STAR. Hundreds of thousands of buildings use Portfolio Manager to track their energy use. We've compiled our observations and statistics from this veritable gold mine of data with the hope that this information will help inform and advance the industry.

Among our most interesting findings is that buildings that consistently benchmark energy use save an average of 2.4 percent per year.

National Trends:

Comprehensive data from all building types, focusing on broad characteristics and trends.

• Two Decades of ENERGY STAR: A Retrospective Study of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Office Buildings Score and Certification: This report examines how the energy use of U.S. office buildings has changed over the past two decades and how ENERGY STAR certified office buildings have performed by comparison.
• Commercial Buildings in Communities with Different Income and Racial Characteristics: This analysis compares building performance, the prevalence of electrification, heating oil use, and the use of on-site solar at buildings across low-income communities and communities of color.
• Commercial Buildings and Onsite Renewable Energy: Characteristics of more than 2,400 buildings that have onsite renewable energy systems.
• Benchmarking and Energy Savings: Our landmark three-year study of 35,000 buildings, showing how their energy use changed over time
• ENERGY STAR Certification: Trends among ENERGY STAR certified buildings
• Energy Use Benchmarking: Energy use and property characteristics of buildings benchmarking energy in Portfolio Manager
• Water Use Tracking: Water use and property characteristics of buildings benchmarking water in Portfolio Manager

Sector-specific Analyses:

• Bank energy use
• Courthouse energy use
• Distribution center energy use
• Financial office energy use
• Hospital energy use
• Hotel energy use
• K-12 school energy use
• Medical office energy use
• Office energy use
• Retail store energy use
• Residence hall / dormitory energy use
• Senior care community energy use
• Supermarket energy use
• Non-refrigerated warehouse energy use
• Wastewater treatment plant energy use
• Worship facility energy use

Download a PDF compilation of all sector-specific analyses.

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