ENERGY STAR Buildings
More than 3,000 office buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals and other buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance. These buildings, representing 482 million square feet, are using 40 percent less energy than typical buildings and are saving building owners approximately $349 million annually in lower energy bills. All of this has been achieved without sacrificing occupant comfort and indoor air quality.
Along with these bottom line benefits for building owners, there also are environmental benefits of ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings. These buildings currently are preventing 1.8 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to emissions from 540,000 vehicles.
Buildings earn the ENERGY STAR by scoring in the top 25 percent according to EPA’s energy performance rating system. Scores are based on data from actual energy bills. Top-performing buildings are found in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Food Lion, Marriott International, and San Diego Unified School District are among those that have a significant number of ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings in their portfolios.
Star Partners
Energy efficiency is not just a consideration once a building is in operation. At least 80 architecture and engineering firms are ENERGY STAR partners interested in improving the energy efficiency of the nation’s buildings during the design phase.
HOK, Inc. is one architecture firm that has taken significant steps to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainability into many of its projects. They became an ENERGY STAR partner in 2004.
“HOK’s commitment to the environment and sustainable design helps to reduce the risks associated with climate change by supporting energy efficiency, which is beneficial to our clients and our communities,” said Sara Graham, sustainable design specialist, HOK. “Becoming an ENERGY STAR partner was a natural step for HOK in order to strengthen our commitment.”
Resources and Honors
EPA provides no-cost tools and resources to help architects, engineers, and building owners address energy efficiency—from the building design process all the way through occupancy and earning the ENERGY STAR.
Target Finder is an online tool that allows architects and engineers to set energy performance targets for building designs. Like labeled buildings, design projects can be “Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR” if the projects are expected to score in the top 25 percent of all buildings on the energy performance rating system.
One of HOK’s recent projects, Winrock International Headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., set a goal to achieve a 96 on EPA’s energy performance rating system, which would place it in the top 4 percent of energy performers in the nation and demonstrate that the building was designed with superior energy performance in mind.
“ENERGY STAR provides a consistent way to measure energy savings in buildings,” said Graham. “This has helped us to ensure that projects like Winrock are energy-efficient and sustainable.”
Once a building has been constructed, the building owner can begin to measure and track his building’s energy use in Portfolio Manager, another online tool provided through the ENERGY STAR program. Building owners enter utility data into the tool to determine current energy use and can track energy consumption over time as they implement energy efficiency improvements. A building earns the ENERGY STAR if it scores in the top 25 percent of buildings in the nation after one year of occupancy.
EPA honors labeled-building owners with a plaque, which can be affixed to the outside of the building to note the building’s superior energy performance. Buildings are also spotlighted on the ENERGY STAR website.
More information on the financial and environmental benefits of ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings can be found on
www.energystar.gov.
