If you took part in the extended deadline for ENERGY STAR submissions as part of the 10-year anniversary celebration, you may be concerned that you won’t have a full year’s worth of utility data prior to the 2016 certification deadline. Good news! ENERGY STAR will accept partial year data this year so that you may continue showcasing your building’s performance.
Who is eligible?
If you earned a 2015 ENERGY STAR with a year ending date in September, October, November, or December of 2015, you are eligible to apply now through November 15, 2016.
When is the best time to apply?
If you are considering taking advantage of this exception, start gathering your utility data and entering it into Portfolio Manager as soon as it’s available. If there has been a significant change in your building’s occupancy or performance data compared to last year, you should strategically select the 12-month period of performance that gives your building the highest possible rating.
You may want to want to apply earlier if:
- Last year’s energy performance was better than this year’s
- Your building had a tenant vacancy during the past year
- A tenant added a large, non-submetered utility load that has affected your building performance
You may want to apply later if you:
- Performed energy efficiency upgrades in the last 12 months
- Had a reduction in vacant tenant space
- Added electrical submeters to comply with ENERGY STAR’s data center application criteria
- Anticipate lower utility bills in September and October that may offset higher summer consumption
Contact the OES Building Energy Services team for customized strategies to maximize your property’s score and to schedule your ENERGY STAR application audit.
As Section Head of Building Energy Services in GHT’s Operations & Energy Services (OES) studio, Jeffrey Salay, PE, CEM, LEED AP leads the firm’s efforts to provide ENERGY STAR benchmarking services, conduct ASHRAE energy audits and other energy studies, and design energy efficiency upgrades.