Benchmarking generally refers to measuring energy (electric, gas, etc.), water, or other materials used by the building and comparing that to similar buildings, past consumption, or a reference performance level. This benchmarking is reserved for commercial buildings required to comply with the Clean Buildings Performance Standards (CBPS).
Energy Benchmarking
The Clean Buildings Performance Standard is mandatory for Tier 1 covered buildings located in the state of Washington. The mandatory compliance and reporting for Tier 1 covered buildings begins June 2026 for buildings greater than 220,000 square foot.
Energy benchmarking allows you to track energy consumed in existing commercial buildings and compare results over time to similar buildings or an applicable standard.
Our Energy Benchmarking service gives you access to a direct feed of whole-building energy usage data from our metered data repository right to your ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® account.
With your benchmarking data, you can identify energy efficiency opportunities to inform where you make energy-saving improvements.
What
PenLight offers energy benchmarking to commercial members to assist in tracking electrical energy consumption in existing buildings and comparing results over time to similar buildings or an applicable standard.
Who
Energy Benchmarking is available for PenLight commercial members or property owners of buildings in our service territory that are required to benchmark by measuring and tracking energy use in Tier 1 or Tier 2 covered buildings over time.
Why
Benefits of energy benchmarking with PenLight:
- High quality energy data for all your buildings
- Historical energy usage tracking
- Helps you prioritize energy-efficiency projects
- Easier path to compliance
Registration Process: Getting Started
PenLight is providing an automated solution for getting aggregated meter data entered in the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, which many states recommend using to benchmark buildings. For some of the buildings there are multiple meters in use and the owner of the building may not be the person who receives the monthly statement.
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To create a property, you must supply information including the address, year built, the gross floor area, and the occupancy level.
Because the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® portal only provides for commercial building tracking, residential building owners will not be able to participate in this solution. However, they can use SmartHub to review and compare their usage.
Step
1
Create an Account in Portfolio Manager®
Step
2
Add a Property in Portfolio Manager
For step-by-step instructions on adding a property in Portfolio Manager, refer to the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide.
Step
3
Add a Meter in Portfolio Manager
For step-by-step instructions on adding a meter in Portfolio Manager, refer to the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide.
For most properties, there only needs to be one meter defined per building. If there are multiple physical meters that provide energy, PenLight will aggregate the data and provide the total to a single Portfolio Manager meter.
Step
4
Connect With PenLight in Portfolio Manager
In Portfolio Manager, connect with PenLight by clicking the “Contacts” link in the upper right. Then choose “Add Contact” and search for PenLight. After you’ve found PenLight, choose the “Connect” button to send them a connection request.
Once the request is accepted, you will be able to share your property and meter.
If you haven’t already done so, email benchmarking@penlight.org to let them know you are wanting the meter data automatically sent to your Portfolio Manager Account.
Step
5
PenLight Will Contact You To Ensure Correct Meter(s) Are Included
Once Penlight has received your property and meter sharing request, you will be contacted to complete the online Building Benchmarking form to ensure the sharing is correctly configured to include all physical meters that represent the property and authorize the utility data exchange with Portfolio Manager.
Please allow up to 10 working days for PenLight to contact you.
Step
6
Ongoing Processing
A few days after the end of each month, PenLight will send the meter data to your Portfolio Manager property.
Further Information
To learn more about Portfolio Manager, visit ENERGY STAR: Benchmark Your Building With Portfolio Manager.
To get answers to your questions, visit the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Help page.
To learn more about Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS), visit Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS) – Washington State Department of Commerce.
The Early Adopter Incentive program provides incentives to building owners who demonstrate early compliance with the Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS). To see how to qualify visit CBPS Incentives – Washington State Department of Commerce.