Orlando Benchmarking for Building Energy & Water Efficiency
Following the 2013 Green Works Orlando Community Action Plan, the City has been strategizing and implementing sustainability initiatives formulated in line with goals set for 2040, which also include the collection of the most complete and precise data possible.
The owners of private Orlando buildings (over 50,000 square feet) and city buildings (Over 10,000 square feet) are required to track energy, gas and water output to obtain an energy benchmarking score annually. This information must be publicly disclosed.
Building Energy Benchmarking is a process of measuring, tracking, and reporting buildings’ energy and water consumption using a benchmarking tool.
ORLANDO’S BEWES (Building Energy and Water Efficiency Strategy) POLICY
Orlando, Florida’s city council launched its BEWES also known as (Building Energy and Water Efficiency Strategy) in 2016 in a unanimous vote by supporting the new policy, that checks the energy and water usage/output of the largest buildings in the city. From September 2019, information transparency, which is yearly, and involves complete gathered data is being included in a yearly City of Orlando report and online mapping tool which examines energy, gas, along with water use within the City.
Energy Audits and Retro-Commissioning are required once every 5 years or when you score less than 50%, which is the national average, to make them (base building systems) more energy-efficient.
MONITOR WHOLE ENERGY USE
The first step in the mandatory benchmarking process is to track the energy and water consumption of buildings using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to measure their performance.
ENSURE COMPLIANCE
Comply with the essential requirements of the Orlando City Council and supply whole-building energy and water data, as well as natural gas usage, by May 1, for 12 months, from January-December.
PERFORM ENERGY AUDITS
From May 2020, any buildings covered, that score less than 50% will require energy audits or a retro-commission service to identify shortcomings and improve building performance.
The Cotocon Group Benchmarking Experts
It is not hard to comply with Orlando’s benchmarking requirements, and The Cotocon Group is able to help.
- Buildings are provided with an ID, once eligibility is determined
- A benchmarking leader must be identified. If one of our (The Cotocon Group) experts is appointed, authorization forms will be required from you.
- As a procedure, the benchmarking leader will share their contact details with the City.
- The benchmarking leader also creates an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account.
- As a part of the procedure, the benchmarking leader receives monthly whole-building energy and water data for the previous year, for example, January to December 2021.
We, The Cotocon Group, can help you manage your Energy and Water Benchmarking, save operation expenses and make your building competitive in the marketplace. Our strategic & technical services will ensure that your compliance meets all requirements from compiling data to submitting the energy and water benchmarking report to the City.
“The team at Cotocon is great! They were really professional on the whole job and with their help, I was able to reduce my energy usage by about 20%! Real Professional approach and their specialty is attention to detail ”
Manager – East Side Condos
“The Greatest Return on Investment for Building Owners is Investing in Energy Efficiency”
Jimmy Carchietta – Founder & C.E.O – The Cotocon Group