Eligibility Criteria for the 1–100 ENERGY STAR Score
You can use Portfolio Manager to measure and track the energy and water use of any building over time. However, for certain properties, you can go a step further and benchmark their energy use relative to similar buildings nationwide.
In Portfolio Manager, this benchmark is called an ENERGY STAR score and is expressed on a scale of 1 to 100. To get an ENERGY STAR score, your property must meet several criteria related to its:
1. Property Type
The ENERGY STAR score compares your building’s energy performance against that of similar buildings across the country. This peer group is identified through nationally representative survey data, primarily from the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), a survey conducted periodically (usually every 5–7 years) by the U.S. Department of Energy.
To identify your building's group of peers, more than 50 percent of your building's gross floor area (excluding parking lots and garages) must be defined as one of the eligible property types. See the list of property types that are eligible to receive a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score.
The remainder of your building may house other property types, and you can still get a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score. However, that’s subject to a few restrictions:
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Your parking garage can’t be bigger than your building. Or in technical terms, the combined floor area of all enclosed and unenclosed parking areas can’t exceed the total gross floor area of the building.
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You can’t have more than 25 percent of your floor space be ineligible for a score. The combined floor area of any property use types that do not have an ENERGY STAR score (i.e., types not listed on the link above) can’t exceed 25 percent of your total floor area.
2. Property Use details
Portfolio Manager asks you to enter data for key property use details. To be eligible to receive a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, there are minimum and maximum thresholds for these values. These limits are designed to make sure that your building operates similarly to the peer group used for comparison. To be eligible to receive a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, your building must meet the thresholds listed below.
Property Type | Requirement (Property types must...) |
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All buildings |
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Hospitals |
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Multifamily housing |
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Municipal wastewater treatment plants |
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Offices, bank branches, financial offices, and courthouses |
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Residence halls/ dormitories and barracks |
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Retail stores |
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Senior living facilities |
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Religious worship facilities |
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3. Energy Data
To receive a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, you must enter energy meters that account for all energy use for all fuel types in the whole building, regardless of who receives or pays the utility bills. To ensure accurate analysis, EPA applies limitations on this data as follows:
- You must include all energy used by the property (e.g., electricity, gas, oil, steam, onsite renewable energy, etc.).
- There must be at least 12 full consecutive calendar months of energy data for all active meters and all fuel types.
Both Target Finder and Portfolio Manager are online tools that calculate 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR scores. Use Target Finder for quick calculations and “what if” scenarios.
Learn more about how these tools differ by comparing Target Finder and Portfolio Manager.