Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
plants against the energy performance of similar facilities. The ratings are
used by building and energy managers to evaluate the energy performance
of existing buildings and industrial plants. The rating systems are also used
by the EPA to determine if a building or plant can qualify to earn Energy Star
recognition [16].
For many types of commercial buildings, you can enter energy informa-
tion into EPA's free online tool, Portfolio Manager [2], and it will calculate a
score for your building on a scale of 1-100. Buildings that score a 75 or greater
may qualify for the Energy Star. Portfolio Manager is an interactive energy
management tool that allows you to track and assess energy and water con-
sumption across your entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environ-
ment. Whether you own, manage or hold properties for investment, Portfolio
Manager can help you set investment priorities, identify under-performing
buildings, verify efficiency improvements and receive EPA recognition for
superior energy performance [17].
6.3.2.9.1 Buildings
The number of space types that can receive the energy performance rating
in Portfolio Manager is expanding and now includes [18]: banks/financial
institutions, courthouses, hospitals (acute care and children's), hotels and
motels, house of worship, K-12 schools, medical offices, offices, residence
halls/dormitories, retail stores, supermarkets, and warehouses (refriger-
ated and non-refrigerated) [19]. Technical descriptions for models used in
the rating system are available for review [3]. These documents provide
detailed information on the methodologies used to create the energy per-
formance ratings, including details on rating objectives, regression tech-
niques and the steps applied to compute a rating. Energy Star energy
performance ratings have been incorporated into some green buildings
standards, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for
existing buildings.
6.3.2.9.2 Industrial Facilities
Energy performance ratings have been released for the following industrial
facilities [20-25]:
1. Automobile assembly plants, cement plants, wet corn mills, con-
tainer glass manufacturing, flat glass manufacturing, frozen fried
potato processing plants, juice processing petroleum refineries, and
pharmaceutical manufacturing plants [19].
6.3.3 Summary of Energy Standards and Labelling
Table 6.3 summarises the international energy labelling activities in
recent years that had achieved their goals and their impact on the national
e c o no my.
