Tools and Resources

The Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator helps inform strategic decisions about financing energy efficiency projects. This document provides an explanation of the calculations and methodology at work behind the calculator.

Use the Building Upgrade Value Calculator (BUVC) to analyze the financial value of efficiency-related capital investments in commercial real estate. By evaluating the expected change in tenant contributions for recoverable owner expenses under a variety of lease types (full service gross, modified gross, triple net – each with customizable tenant-level parameters), this tool allows you to calculate the costs and benefits of base building energy efficiency measures for both the owner and each tenant.

The Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator helps inform strategic decisions about financing energy efficiency projects. Using the tool, you will be able to estimate how much new equipment you can finance using anticipated savings, as well whether you should finance now or wait for a lower interest rate. Use the CFO Calculator to get answers to critical questions, such as:

Learn how Des Moines Public Schools, a school district with more than 32,000 students and 70 facilities encompassing almost six million square feet of space, was able to improve its facilities and maximize energy savings by financing energy efficiency improvements through revenue bonds.

Do you have energy efficiency projects that have been postponed or rejected due to capital budget limitations, other projects with better returns, or lack of expertise? Yet, from your perspective the project should be a “no brainer” due to the immediate positive cash flows generated by the energy savings. Understanding your organization’s decision-making process, being able to effectively speak to the benefit of improved cash flow, and improving your financial literacy can greatly increase your probability of receiving approval for a project.

Use this directory to find Energy Efficiency Program Administrators who run regional or sector-based programs to promote energy efficiency. The directory lists programs and organizations that provide incentives, expert help, and benchmarking assistance, plus those that offer Portfolio Manager web services.

This two-page primer provides an overview of two of the most popular mechanisms for financing energy efficiency projects in the public sector: performance contracts and tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements. Both mechanisms provide effective alternatives to traditional debt financing, and both may allow you to pay for energy efficiency upgrades by using money that is already set aside in your utility operating budget – allowing you to draw on dollars saved from future energy bills to pay for new, energy-efficient equipment and projects today.

The Building Upgrade Manual is a comprehensive guide to profitable energy efficiency upgrades presented in an easy-to-understand framework designed especially for ENERGY STAR partners.

This 12-page chapter addresses:

• Analytic conventions
• Cash-flow analysis tools
• Selecting an analysis tool
• The investment analysis process
• Other considerations

EPA’s ENERGY STAR Healthcare Energy Savings Financial Analysis Calculators are designed to calculate the financial impact of improved energy performance for your organization. Organizations that reduce energy expenses and improve energy performance increase both their bottom line and their market valuation. These calculators are specially designed to help healthcare organizations quantify cumulative savings and communicate the value of their savings by translating it into metrics that resonate with key decision makers.

Use this 14-page PDF to learn how to integrate publicly available, no-cost ENERGY STAR tools into the energy performance contracting process in order to make performance contracting projects more actionable and understandable for building owners, tenants, policy makers, and the public.