Assessing Energy Performance In Wisconsin Multi-Family Residential Buildings
The plots below show the distributions of annual energy use and energy cost intensities for 25 high-rise (5-16 story) and 41
low-rise (2-4 story) multi-family residential buildings in Wisconsin (Courtesy: Madison Gas and Electric Company's Multi-Family Energy
Benchmarking Study). All buildings are commercial multi-family buildings except
for two that are Public Housing Authority operated. The data used for these plots reflect energy use and cost data collected at
Wisconsin buildings for fiscal year 2005 (September 2004-2005). As a group and when normalized based on floor area only (energy
use and energy cost per sqft), low-rise multi-family residential buildings appear to be more efficient than their high-rise counterparts.
To rate your multi-family building against the plots, you will need:
Gross floor area of your building (for plots shown, gross floor area excludes semi-heated garage space), and the
Total annual energy use for all fuels at your building (electricity, gas, etc.).
Total annual energy costs for all fuels at your building (electricity, gas, etc.)
For rating energy performance, calculate the annual source energy use intensity (EUI) of your building using the Total Source
Energy Use Worksheet available under "Benchmark Your Building" at this website. Enter the energy performance plot on the
x-axis at your EUI value. Read up to the appropriate curve and then left to find your rating. The rating for your building
corresponds to the percent of Wisconsin buildings that are less efficient than yours. The higher your rating, the better
your building's performance.
For rating energy cost, calculate the annual energy cost intensity of your building by dividing total annual energy costs by the
gross floor area of your building ($/sqft). The plot is based on FY05 energy costs. If your cost data are more recent and energy
costs have changed significantly since FY05, you may need to discount your current costs to FY05 values for an accurate comparison.
Enter the cost plot on the x-axis at your cost intensity. Read up to the curve and then left to find your rating.
The rating for your building corresponds to the percent of buildings in Wisconsin that are more cost-intensive than yours.
The higher your rating, the better your building's energy cost performance.
This tool can help you spot exceptional buildings and at the other extreme, those buildings that can most benefit from
energy-related improvements. Buildings rating below 30 often have very large energy cost reduction potentials.
|
