Energy costs represent 30% of the typical operating costs for a large commercial building. Historically energy costs have mistakenly been treated as an unmanageable overhead cost. Many business are implementing energy management programs and using best practice procedures to overcome growing energy costs.

Step 1: Define a metric - energy density, key performance indicators, energy benchmarks. All of these terms refer to the process of evaluating your facilities energy performance. Evaluating a faciliy's energy performance will provide an estimate of savings potential, a measurable value to base management upon, and a baseline to judge success upon. There are several resources available to help define the energy performance of your facility.

Step 2: Develop an Energy Management Program - Whether you utilize the Commercial Practical Energy Management training offered by Focus, follow the overview provide by ENERGY STAR^®, or develop your own program, every facility ideally has a means of monitoring energy consumption and working to minimize energy consumption through continuous improvement. Energy metrics provide the keys to success for any energy management program by giving management the means to review the program's success.

Energy Metrics
Portfolio Manager - The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool allows you to rate your building versus similar buildings in the national building stock normalized by region. The Portfolio Manager provides a score between 1 and 100 where 50 is the average energy performance for a similar building. Buildings that score a 75 or greater may be eligible for the ENERGY STAR rating.

CBECs - The Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey is a national survey performed by the Energy Information Administration that provides energy densities by region for typical building types. If your facility is not eligible for a Portfolio Manager rating this can be a good resource for comparing your building to the average building.

Other Metrics - An Energy Advisor can help you find and calculate energy metrics that make sense for your facility.
Typical Metrics are:

• Lighting Density - Watts/sqft
• Energy Density - Btu/sqft
• Normalized Energy Density - Btu (heating and cooling)/sqft/degree day (heating and cooling)

Education Opportunities
Focus offers several Training Opportunities at discounted rates to help you recognize ways to reduce energy costs in your facility. The Building Operator Certification course is recommended for building maintenance staff.