Facility managers can benchmark energy and collect energy data until they’re blue in the face, but if they don’t have a way to analyze it in such a way as to make it actionable, that data is useless. To that end, the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) has created a tool called “Putting Data To Work” that can help facility managers prioritize energy projects by synthesizing a wide swath of data from a variety of energy projects.
With nearly 30 municipalities (24 cities, 2 states, and one county) operating with energy benchmarking ordinances, and many more likely on the way, there is a wealth of public energy data about how buildings perform. IMT worked with New York City and Washington, D.C., two of the pioneer cities for benchmarking ordinances, to compile a toolkit to help buildings be more energy efficient.
According to the IMT release, “the toolkit includes a primer on the emerging uses of policy-generated building energy data for utilities, which includes strategies for improving customer service, programs, operations, resilience, and other priorities. The toolkit also includes a program administrator guide for using data to identify prospective customers and step-by-step guidance for engaging in conversations about energy data with building owners.”
In a blog post about the release of “Putting Data To Work,” IMT’s manager of data strategy and application, Erin Beddingfield, explains that the next steps include “digging into the toolkit…to further explore our findings via webinars, blogs, and in-the-field presentations.”
Facility managers can get a jump and explore the free toolkit now on IMT’s website.
This Quick Read was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, executive editor, Building Operating Management. Read his cover story profiling Northwestern University’s vice president of facilities management, John D’Angelo.
