ORLANDO BENCHMARKING

Benefits of Energy Benchmarking

According to the City of Orlando, their BEWES policy covers less than 4% of all the buildings in the City, which seems minimal until you realize that these account for about 70% of the total energy used by all the buildings in Orlando!

Generally, the more energy-efficient internal spaces are the lower energy bills will be. Additionally, it is an accepted fact that energy-efficiency improves the comfort of occupants, reduces the rate of asthma and similar conditions, and increases productivity. These factors make energy-efficient buildings more appealing for future buyers and tenants.

In 2015, The Greenlink Group undertook an impact study for the City that examined the overall benefits and impacts of BEWES to 2030. It found that the new policy would:

• Save as much as $208 million in energy costs.
• Improve comfort and productivity as a result of planned building energy efficiency enhancements.
• Improve the air quality inside buildings because energy-efficient buildings consume less power and therefore result in fewer emissions.
• Reduce health care costs by an estimated $57 million primarily because of improved air quality that reduces asthma and other similar respiratory conditions.
• Increase economic development because of the reduced operating costs of these big buildings coupled with increased asset values and the improved productivity of workers.
• Create hundreds of new, high-wage jobs as a result of increased economic development. A figure of 500 was cited.
• Reduce the constraints on water supply by reducing energy demand and the consequential high volumes of water usage associated with the generation of electric power.
• Conserve 900 million gallons of fresh water as a result of reduced water supply constraints – a critical factor in light of increasing global water scarcity.
• Enhance our resilience to water- and energy-related emergencies.
• Avoid as much as 1.1 million metric tons of carbon pollution.
• Improve competitiveness nationally and promote Orlando as one of the top sustainable cities in the U.S. This was seen as key to attracting new businesses and investments that would ensure Orlando would ultimately succeed in the global marketplace.

Value of Energy Audits & Retro-Commissioning

Building owners often ask us how an energy audit would improve their energy benchmarking score.

In a nutshell, an audit will provide building owners with information that will help them to improve the energy performance of the building. Ultimately, this means that if they do it properly, they can reduce utility bills, and maintenance and operating costs, and benefit from increased property values.

While audits generally call for replacements and often expensive alterations to systems, retro-commissioning may be a less expensive option for improving system operations and extending the life of equipment.

The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) provides free energy audits that are eligible for compliance for those who don’t want to consult with a professional company.

But often building owners decide to pursue options beyond the free program or to retro-commission instead. If this is your choice, be sure to consider property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing options as well as the various rebates and incentives on offer form the OUC. There are also energy efficiency programs that incorporate financing mechanisms.