Know Your Score: Building Energy Scoring

Homes with eco-friendly features do not always command a premium price tag in today's hot housing market, according to analysis from realtor.com®, a leading online real estate destination. Learn more about the "greenest" metro of them all.

Learn about how the National Association of Realtors achieve sustainability in their annual report.

Vision: REALTORS® thrive in a culture of sustainability that promotes viability, resiliency, adaptability, and resource efficiency.

Fort Collins was ranked 8^th in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2018 list of mid-sized U.S. metropolitan areas with the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings. The ranking confirms Fort Collins’ commitment to provide building owners and managers with the technical guidance, best practices and training needed to make their buildings more energy efficient, save money and reduce carbon emissions.

Cities are ranked according to how many buildings achieved ENERGY STAR certification in 2017. To qualify, a building must earn a 1-100 ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher, indicating that it outperforms 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide. In 2017, 67 Fort Collins-area buildings earned the ENERGY STAR.

Fort Collins Utilities is in the preliminary planning stage for a building energy scoring and benchmarking program, which may impact local businesses. Cities across the nation have implemented similar programs in recent years.

Energy scoring and benchmarking can be beneficial in helping owners, property managers and tenants understand their building’s energy use, as well as establish a baseline for tracking and identifying opportunities to reduce energy-related costs.

Utilities welcomes public feedback on how this program could be implemented in the community. Sign up for updates and complete our survey at fcgov.com/BES-feedback(External link). The findings will be compiled for the community working group and presented to City Council in late 2018.

For more information:

ENERGY STAR: energystar.gov/TopCities(External link) or energystar.gov/buildings(External link)

Follow #CoCommunities on Twitter for Colorado Communities Symposium highlights January 31 through February 1.

What is the energy performance of the buildings where you live, work and play? Denver’s Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) launched this interactive map to show how buildings across the city rank in terms of energy efficiency. The Building Energy Performance Map displays buildings’ ENERGY STAR scores, which reflect each structure’s energy efficiency on a 1–100 scale. The map draws from building performance data collected under the Energize Denver(External link) (External link)benchmarking ordinance, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by commercial and multi-family buildings.

This comparison tool uses peer city research for existing benchmarking policies and programs. The jurisdictions presented have varying methods and options for their benchmarking programs, and this tool helps compare them side by side. To see all cities and criteria, click the "Add All" buttons in the two sections and then click the "Compare These Policies" button.

Light the Moment with ENERGY STAR. Save energy and protect the planet, for a lifetime of precious moments. Make @ENERGYSTAR(External link) part of your life on ENERGY STAR Day and every day. #LightTheMoment

Writing for TheEnergyCollective.com(External link) recently, Lee notes that the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department(External link) facilitated numerous meetings over the course of 18 months and gathered thick stacks of notes about ways to improve building energy efficiency. Yet there remained a disconnect between the building owners or managers and helpful resources...

Taking a closer look, the city’s team realized that the challenge wasn’t purely a financial one. Lee says that it came down to where building managers or owners would invest time and attention on improving and maintaining their businesses rather than where they were going to spend money.