Step 3: Evaluate your target using ENERGY STAR tools

Once you have a goal in mind, your next step should be to enter it into either EPA’s online Portfolio Manager tool or Target Finder calculator. Both tools calculate the following:

  1. Energy use intensity (kBtu/square foot/year) target required to achieve your goal
  2. Annual absolute energy use (kBtu) required to achieve your goal
  3. Associated annual energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions
  4. Estimated 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR score of your design

Keep these figures handy and refer back to them often as you design your building.

We highly recommend the use of Portfolio Manager, which is required for Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition. However, when you’re just getting started, Target Finder may be a quicker, easier way to get a feel for different target levels because there’s no login and fewer required data inputs. See the differences between Portfolio Manager and Target Finder.

Select a tool below to get started:

 ENERGY STAR logo and Portfolio Manager textTarget Finder logo and text.
 


 

How Portfolio Manager and Target Finder work
Portfolio Manager and Target Finder both generate targets and ENERGY STAR scores. They do this by first accounting for building and operating characteristics, such as operating hours and number of PCs, as well as 30-year weather data for your project site. Next, the tools compare this data to the actual energy consumption of real buildings, using nationally representative survey data such as the DOE’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). The same representative reference survey data is built into both tools, meaning that, with a couple of mouse clicks, you can assess your designs against the best-available data sample in the nation, plus have it account for size, operating characteristics, and weather. Compare Portfolio Manager and Target Finder.

Portfolio Manager and Target Finder are powered by the same calculation engine: No matter which tool you choose, you’ll get the same result.