The State of California has made several efforts to increase energy efficiency, and Assembly Bill 802 is only one of them. Through this bill, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission has implemented a benchmarking and disclosure program for building owners of commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet of gross floor area. The intent of this procedure is to help building owners better understand the energy usage (and their associated costs) through standardized energy use metrics. Financial incentives are available to building owners who deliver their efficiency ratings on time, but the bill does not require buildings to improve any deficiencies found through this reporting. By implementing this procedure, managed buildings can typically cut down their energy usage by 5-15%, and buildings that haven’t had active programs for several years can cut down their energy usage by 20-30%.
Building owners must benchmark their buildings at least once every two years. June 1, 2019 is the upcoming date by which these buildings must be benchmarked. One way to achieve compliance with this measure is through the use of an approved third party energy benchmarking tool such as ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The ENERGY STAR Benchmarking tool allows you to compile your utility data into one convenient location and calculate your approximate savings in relation to your building’s overall energy consumption rate.
VCA Green offers AB 802 Compliance Consulting and Administration as one of our many sustainability consulting services we provide. If your building(s) must comply with this requirement, please contact us today:
Moe Fakih
mfakih@vca-green.com
714-363-4700
Contributing Writer: Devin Green