Online energy measurement and tracking tool, used by more than 19% of the senior living market, makes it easier than ever to save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions
Launched 13 years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool has fundamentally changed the way that senior living communities and other organizations think about the energy use of their buildings. Today, a widely-anticipated upgrade to the popular online energy management and tracking tool will take energy performance to a whole new level. Senior living communities, school districts, retail chains, hospital systems, and local governments currently use Portfolio Manager to measure the energy performance, water use, utility costs, and greenhouse gas emissions of more than 300,000 commercial buildings nationwide. The new Portfolio Manager delivers a more user-friendly interface, enhanced data sharing capabilities, integrated building design functionality, and better reporting.
Portfolio Manager will continue to deliver the nearly 150 energy, greenhouse gas (GHG), and water performance metrics that owners and managers of senior living communities use to make strategic management decisions. One of these metrics—the 1–100 Energy Star score, rates a building’s energy efficiency against similar buildings nationwide. A score of 50 represents median energy performance, whereas a score of 75 signifies that a building outperforms 75 percent of its peers. Buildings in the United States that score a 75 or higher, and have their data verified by a Professional Engineer or Registered Architect, are eligible to earn EPA’s Energy Star certification. To date, more than 22,000 buildings, including 79 senior care communities, have demonstrated their commitment to saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.
Energy Star certified buildings use, on average, 35 percent less energy and generate 35 percent fewer GHG emissions than typical buildings, and studies have shown that they have lower operating costs, increased asset value, and higher occupancy rates. Additionally, there are benefits to simply measuring and tracking a building’s energy performance in Portfolio Manager—a recent EPA study showed that buildings that benchmarked consistently over a three-year period logged an average energy use reduction of 2.4 percent each year. For commercial building portfolios with annual energy bills in the millions of dollars and that emit tens of thousands of metric tons of GHG emissions each year, these reductions can be substantial.
Products, homes and buildings that earn the Energy Star label prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency requirements set by the U.S. EPA. In 2012 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved $24 billion on their utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to those of 50 million vehicles. From the first Energy Star qualified computer in 1992, the Energy Star label can now be found on products in more than 65 different categories, with more than 4.5 billion sold over the past 20 years. Over 1.4 million new homes and 22,000 facilities, including offices, schools, hospitals, and industrial plants, have earned the Energy Star.
Learn more about the new Portfolio Manager—and take a test drive—at energystar.gov/NewPortfolioManager.
More information about the benefits of benchmarking in Energy Star Portfolio Manager at energystar.gov/datatrends
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