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What Are Building Performance Standards?

By adhering to these new standards, facility managers can lower energy usage and reduce costs.   June 21, 2023


By Dan Weltin, Editor-in-Chief,


It's always been important to know how much energy is used in the building. Building Performance Standards measure the carbon footprint of the building by looking at the electrical and gas usage. To help reduce the carbon impact of existing buildings, cities all across the United States are passing Building Performance Standards.  

Facility managers need to pay attention to these standards because even if their city doesn’t have such a standard yet, it’s likely only a matter of time before your area adopts one.   

In this video, Dan Weltin, editor in chief for the facility market sits down with David Borchardt, mechanical engineer with MD Energy Advisors. The two discuss using the free Energy Star Portfolio Manager to examine energy use for one year. This data will provide facility managers with an Energy Star score or an Energy Use Intensity of the building that will be a great starting point in identifying areas to improve energy usage. 

In this video, you’ll learn: 

  • What are Building Energy Performance Standards (0:37) 
  • Why facility managers need to pay attention to these standards (0:58) 
  • Where facility managers should begin if they haven't started a program to meet these standards (1:26) 
  • Benchmarks facility managers should establish and when they need to start meeting them (2:12) 

See our other videos: 

How to Keep Up With Emergency Preparedness 

How Artificial Intelligence Affects Facility Managers 

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