Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection’s Eighth Energy Benchmarking Report Showcases Progress and Introduces New Energy Tools

The Energy Benchmarking Lawwas adoptedin2014and requires building owners to track and report the energy usage of commercial and multifamily buildings 25,000 square feet or greater. Reporting requirements began in 2015.Under the law, buildings are required tomeet building energy performance standards (BEPS), reducing energy use over time.

The Energy Benchmarking Reporthighlightsresults and trends from the 2023 calendar year. The report was created to deepen understanding of energy consumption patterns, identifyenergy-saving opportunitiesand help businesses bottom lines through consistent data collection and tracking.

• Group 5 Success from the Start: Multifamily properties between 25,000 and 250,000 square feet (Group 5) reported for the first time this year. This new group is comprisedof more than 400 buildings totaling 36 million gross square feet.Seventy-five percent of Group 5 buildings have reported. Many first-time bench markersreceived support and subsidies through the Montgomery County Green Bank's Technical Assistance Programfor benchmarking, data verificationand gross floor area measurement to ensure accurate, high-quality data.

• High Reporting Rate: Eighty-seven percent of covered buildings have submittedenergy benchmarking reports, totaling more than225 million gross square feet of commercial and multifamily area. Ninety-three percent of covered buildings have reported or filed an extension while they work to comply. This is the fifth consecutive year with a more than 90 percent reporting rate among covered buildings.

• Persistent Savings: Benchmarking data for consistently reported properties shows a 14 percent decrease in weather-

• normalized site energy use intensity (site EUI) between 2018 and 2023, an average of threepercent per year. County results

• mirror U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research showingpersistent energy savings in benchmarked properties.

• Preparing for Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS): The report provides an overview ofthe County's BEPS Program. The new data tools include detailed information about projected County standards, which are currently under review by the County Council.

• Montgomery County Building Energy Performance Mapprovides an interactive and user-friendly tool for investigating compliance status and energy performance data for each covered building's current and historical benchmarking data. It also compareseach building's latest energy performance to proposed building energy performance standards.

• Performance Requirement Look-Up Toolprovidesa more in-depth view of historically reported benchmarking for each building, provides each building's BEPS baseline and projects interim and final BEPS standards based on proposed regulations.

"The new data tools better bring that information to the public to increase market transparency," said DEP Director Jon Monger. "DEP appreciates building owners' responsiveness to the benchmarkingrequirementsand we look forward to continuing to work together as they prepare for building energy performance standards."