Mandatory Benchmarking and Energy Audits
Burton’s team of experts can help your facilities with compliance expertise as it relates to city, or state-mandated energy benchmarking and audit requirements. Several cities throughout the country require commercial buildings to benchmark their energy usage annually and perform a detailed energy audit, retro-commissioning, or tune-up survey every few years. There can be stiff fines for non-compliance, so Burton can help facilitate this process for a single building or a portfolio of buildings.
Burton can identify, track, implement, and help budget for the compliance with various mandated city energy efficiency requirements. In addition, Burton’s engineers are accredited to provide the technical services necessary to complete and oversee all compliance work that is required to meet the various energy assessment requirements for most cities throughout the country. Burton understands the complexities of these utility mandated assessments and can advise on due dates, exemptions, and extensions. Burton’s experience with local and state energy mandates allows us to complete all aspects of filing to fully meet each city’s specific ordinance requirements.
The Typical Scope of Work for a portfolio-based approach includes:
- Tracking all current city-mandated annual benchmarking requirements and audit or retro-commissioning (RCx) programs along with identifying new city, state, or federal programs that may apply.
- Investigating and Applying for Exemptions or alternative compliance options, if applicable.
- Using ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® to complete benchmarking requirements, complying with specific nuances that local cities, counties, or states may require.
- Completing Energy audits, RCx services, and Tune-Up surveys to meet applicable city-mandated requirements prior to the due dates to avoid potential fines.
- Coordinating with the client as needed to resolve any deficiencies noted during the surveys.
- Filing the appropriate benchmarking, audit, tune-up, or RCx documentation with each City using the appropriate online reporting tools.
- Budgeting for all compliance-related efficiency work annually to allow client to plan accordingly.
The following map shows where city-mandated benchmarking or energy assessment ordinances are in effect, but these requirements may change year to year, with new cities adopting benchmarking or audit requirements or existing cities increasing the compliance standards.
