Benchmarking through the Sure Bet for Schools Project provides a unique opportunity for you to compare your schools and your district's overall performance to hundreds of other Nevada schools, and compare your buildings' performance to schools nationally. As educators are all aware, to know where we're going we have to know where we've been.

Tool Box of Technical Services

Energy Benchmarking Frequently Asked Questions

We already keep track of our buildings' energy use. Why do we need your benchmarking service?

Tracking your energy use is an important first step in reducing your energy expenditures. However, to fully understand how well your district is performing, it is important to have a standard by which to measure the efficiency of your facilities. The Sure Bet for Schools Program uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s Portfolio Manager to compare your schools’ and your district's overall performances to hundreds of other schools in Nevada and across the country.

Are there any specific requirements for participation in this program?

Only buildings that are served by SPPC or NV Energy are eligible for incentives. If some of your buildings receive electricity from a different electric company, we can benchmark them, but they would not be eligible for incentives. The minimum size building eligible for the EPA Portfolio Manager Score is 5,000 square feet. Buildings bench marked must be actual school buildings (i.e., elementary, middle and high schools). We will not benchmark administration buildings, district offices, field houses, stadiums, or garages.

In what form must the data be submitted in order to be bench marked?

The Program requires that partners complete and submit a Data Collection Form in order to be bench marked. Program staff will work with you to make sure that the data is complete and accurate.

Some or all of my buildings are on one meter. Can I still be bench marked?

In most cases, we cannot benchmark buildings that are not individually metered. We can, however, provide you with an energy consumption and cost summary which can help you compare your overall energy consumption to other similar organizations. If you only have two schools on one meter, but most of your schools are metered separately, we can treat the two schools on one meter as one school.

Should I include information on portable buildings?

You should include utility and building data for portable buildings unless they will only be in place temporarily. Portable buildings, just like permanent buildings, consume energy. These buildings are therefore considered part of the facility. To get an accurate picture of energy performance, portable buildings must be included in benchmarks such as total energy usage, energy use and cost per square foot, and cost per student. Portable building information MUST be included if ANY of the following conditions are true:

• Portables have been in place for at least the last 3 years
• Portables are expected to be in place for the next 5 years
• The student capacity (# of desks) of portables is at least 10% of the enrollment of the school, or
• The total square footage of portables is at least 10% of the total school square footage.

Why do you need to know things like number of PC's, months per year, if we have pools, etc?

The EPA Portfolio Manager Score is calculated based on an algorithm that uses this type of information. Based on national surveys of thousands of buildings, the EPA found correlations between certain building characteristics and energy performance, making these characteristics important to the analysis.

I don't know my exact number of PC's, operating hours per week, etc. Can I estimate?

Yes. PC and operating hour estimates are perfectly acceptable. Keep in mind, however, that the more accurate the data, the more accurate your results.

What are average weekly hours of operation for HS's, MS's, and ES's?

Typically, the hours of operation of K-12 schools are somewhere between 40 and 70 hours per week. Elementary and middle schools generally have fewer hours of operation than high schools. Note that a building must be at least 50% occupied to be considered "operating." It is also important to note that buildings that have single-zone central heating or cooling systems may experience high energy usage even when only part of the building is in use.

A couple of utility bills for some of my buildings are missing. Can they still be bench marked?

The accuracy of the benchmarking results is dependent upon the accuracy of the data we receive. We can estimate the usage for missing months based on the usage during the other months that year, but this is less accurate and should only be done if absolutely necessary. If more than four months are missing, we cannot benchmark that building effectively. In this case, you should submit data for a different 12-month period.

What do I do with my benchmarking results?

We encourage you to share your Benchmarking Report and Energy Master Plan with other departments and stakeholders in your organization. This includes maintenance staff, teachers/employees, the board of directors, and everyone in between. Make sure everyone is aware of and supports your Energy Master Plan. Use the Benchmarking Report results to justify upgrades at poor performing buildings and to show off better performing buildings.

Are the benchmarking results weather normalized?

The EPA Portfolio Manager Score is weather normalized based on data from the weather station closest to your building for the time period of bills provided. The other three energy indicators - energy use per square foot, cost per square foot, and cost per student/occupant - are not weather normalized. Your schools are only being compared to other schools in similar climate zones.

My benchmarking results are lower than I expected. Is your report accurate?

The benchmarking results are only as accurate as the data we were given. We recommend that you verify the data you gave us by checking the summary table below each building's graph to make sure the square footage, number of occupants, etc. is correct. Keep in mind that your high school's main meter may include the stadium lights, parking lot lights, field house, and/or portable buildings. These additional energy loads may make your score appear lower than you expected.

My buildings did not perform as well as I expected. What can I do?

Lower-than-expected benchmarking scores can be valuable indicators of buildings that need the most attention. Poor performing buildings offer the greatest opportunity for improvements to reduce energy use and save money. Your Project Consultant and other building energy professionals can help you identify why the building is using more energy than it should, and help plan improvements accordingly.

What is the EPA?

Founded in 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency is the federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment. You can learn more about the agency by visiting http://www.epa.gov/.

What is ENERGY STAR?

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary EPA Project that was launched in 1992 to help foster energy efficiency. It is now common to see the ENERGY STAR name on energy efficient equipment, buildings, and home appliances.

What is the EPA Portfolio Manager Score?

Portfolio Manager is an online tool created under the EPA's ENERGY STAR Project. Based on a survey and analysis of thousands of buildings nationwide, it allows evaluation and comparison of certain types of facilities through a performance rating, or score, from 1 to 100. Eligible building types include banks, courthouses, dorms, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, offices, retail stores, supermarkets, warehouses, and wastewater treatment plants. A score of 50 is average. A score above 75 may indicate a building that can qualify for designation as an "ENERGY STAR Building" (see below). The Sure Bet for Schools Program uses the Portfolio Manager Score (where applicable) as one indicator, along with others, to help building managers evaluate the relative performance of their buildings.

Are there recognition opportunities available for high-performing buildings or organizations?

There are two different kinds of recognition available through the EPA's ENERGY STAR Project. Buildings that score a 75 or higher in Portfolio Manager are eligible to receive the ENERGY STAR Building Label. The application process requires that a Professional Engineer (PE) visit the building to certify that the data is accurate and that the building meets certain lighting, air quality, and ventilation requirements.

A second type of recognition is available for organizations with more than one facility in Portfolio Manager. The ENERGY STAR Leader Award is given to organizations that have improved their overall average energy consumption by 10, 20, or 30 or more percent over the course of two or more years. The award is also available to organizations that have an overall average score of 75 or higher. This award does not require a PE visit, but it does require the organization to become an ENERGY STAR Partner. To become a Partner, an organization simply has to sign a letter to the EPA stating their commitment to running energy efficient facilities.

http://www.nvenergy.com/saveenergy/business/incentives/surebet/achievementsstudies.cfm