2019 vs 2020 Town Building Portfolio Energy Consumption
Overall not much has changed from 2019 to 2020. It is good to see that the Town was able to maintain the reductions in energy use.
2018 vs 2019 Town Building Portfolio Energy Consumption
On February 14, 2017 the Town adopted the Energy Benchmarking Policy for Certain Municipal Buildings in the Town of Tusten, which commits the Town to monitor and make yearly reports of energy use for all Town buildings over 1,000 sqft. The purpose is to track energy use over time and compare performance of similar buildings to make smarter, more cost-effective operation and capital investment decisions, reward efficiency, and drive widespread, continuous improvement. Below is the first report comparing 2018 and 2019 and the narrative that explains the data.
The Town of Tusten has only two municipal buildings that fall under the Energy Benchmarking Policy as all other buildings are smaller than 1,000 ft². The Town Hall and included Theater is the largest municipal building with the Highway Barn being the second. The Town Hall is by far the biggest electricity user, consuming 26,747 kWh in 2018. The Highway Barn uses more fuel oil #2 than the Town Hall, using 364,306 kBtu in 2018. The Town Hall building has ground source heat pumps which significantly reduce its fuel oil #2 usage. From 2018 to 2019 both the Highway Barn and the Town Hall buildings reduced their weather normalized source energy use intensity (EUI) by 40 and 20% respectively. Neither building qualifies for an Energy Star score due to the type of building they’re categorized under.
Overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been reduced almost 31 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCDE) from 2018 to 2019. That is the equivalent of almost 6 houses’ annual electricity use[1]! From 2018 to 2019, the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions came from the Highway Barn which saw a 58% reduction in GHG emissions intensity. The Highway Barn’s reduced electricity consumption by 21% and 17% reduction in fuel oil #2 use played a large role in reducing its GHG emissions.
Glossary of Terms
Glossary of terms from EPA Portfolio Manager:
- EUI stands for energy use intensity. It is the energy use per square foot at a property (energy divided by square foot). EUI enables you to compare different sized buildings.
- KBtu stands for kilo, or thousands of british thermal units.
- Therms is a standard measure of gas based on its energy content.
- MTCDE stands for metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
- NA stands for “not available” n this table as not all buildings have monthly energy data or use gas.
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions are the carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) gases released into the atmosphere as a result of energy consumption at the property. GHG emissions are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), a universal unit of measure that combines the quantity and global warming potential of each greenhouse gas. Emissions are reported in four categories, each is available as a total amount in metric tons or as an intensity value in kilograms per square foot (kgCO2e/ft2):
- MTCDE stands for Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent and is also written as Metric Tons CO2e.
- The National Median is an extremely useful benchmark: 50% of properties perform below the median, and 50% perform above the median. It represents the middle of the national population. Most property types in Portfolio Manager get their National Median from the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). There are 5 exceptions where the National Median is not based on CBECS data: Data Centers, Hospitals, Multifamily, Senior Care Facilities, and Wastewater Treatment Plants. CBECS does not have a National Median for these 5 property types. Their Medians are based on their survey data. National Median Site and Source EUI values can be found in the Table of National Median values.
- Weather Normalized Source Energy –The source energy use your property would have consumed during 30-year average weather conditions. For example, if 2012 was a very hot year, then your Weather Normalized Source Energy may be lower than your Source Energy Use, because you would have used less energy if it had not been so hot. It can helpful to use this weather normalized value to understand changes in energy when accounting for changes in weather. Weather Normalized Source EUI is also available (i.e. Weather Normalized Source Energy divided by property size or by flow through a water/wastewater treatment plant).
