U.S. Dept. of Energy Better Buildings Challenge

The City participates in the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge and has set a goal to reduce the energy use intensity (EUI), kBtu per square foot, of the City‘s buildings by 20 percent by 2023 to a 2011 baseline. 

To accomplish this ambitious goal, the Public Works Building Division has collaborated with the City’s Sustainability Coordinator to establish best practices for repairs and retrofits of building systems that effect energy use. Doing so helped weave energy efficiency into the decision making process when considering projects like HVAC replacements, re-roofing, lighting, etc. The City also implemented the use of energy tracking software. This allowed staff to benchmark City facilities and identify opportunities for improvement. 

Despite having added three additional facilities to the City’s portfolio, this interdepartmental effort has resulted in the City exceeding its long term goal of 20% reduction by 2023. In March 2020, the City earned the Better Buildings Goal Achiever Award for reducing its overall energy use intensity by 21.3%.