Enigin Update - More U.S. States and Cities Requiring Commerical Building Energy Data
INCREASING numbers of U.S. states and cities are now requiring that commercial buildings measure and disclose their energy use – so reports USA Today.
The paper states that new rules, with exemptions for small businesses, are likely to shame non-residential building owners into energy efficiency upgrades, that will lead to energy and cost savings, plus the creation of jobs.
The schemes will be similar to energy efficiency labelling on appliances, the utility costs will be undisclosed, but the public will see a building's relative energy efficiency.
We reported on New York City’s deadline, August 1, for submission of energy data for commercial buildings in last weeks news, but similar requirements will sewe fulfilment in October in Washington state, starting with Seattle, followed by Californian city San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. Austin, Texas, will match the others by next June and throughout California other cities will accept the standards as early as next year. USA Today adds that half a dozen other states are considering similar rules.
USA Today quotes Andrew Burr, author of a report on building standards by the Institute for Market Transformation: "They give consumers — tenants and investors - access to information they've not had previously.”
Roger Platt of the private U.S. Green Building Council, told USA Today that many buildings don't track energy usage. "It's hard to overstate how significant this is. It's like a 12-step program. You first have to admit you have a problem."
Jayson Antonoff, an energy adviser for Seattle, told USA Today: "the number of buildings that will be benchmarked (for energy) is going to explode."
Enigin Distributors have exclusive access to Enigin Plc's Eniscope Real-time and Analytics system, which clearly displays, even publicly if needed, the energy use data of a building, a floor or even a single office - providing real-time and historical energy use data and the knowledge needed for the most effective energy saving actions.
Picture of Seattle Skyline by Andrew E Larson
