Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. This is the first installment in the WegoWise links series. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily and Bert.

The Report

Google.org, the philanthropic branch of Google, recently released an exciting report in conjunction with McKinsey’s Low Carbon Economics Tool (LCET). The report showed incredible savings, both monetarily and in energy use, if immediate innovations are made in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. The 28-page document that was published at the end of June, “The Impact of Clean Energy Innovation,” takes an aggressive stance on the necessity of progress in green sciences. The analysis compares simulated data from Breakthrough Policies and Innovations (BT) and Business as Usual (BAU) policies in 2030 and 2050.

Earlier this month we wrote blog posts about benchmarking ordinances in NYC and Seattle. In February, San Francisco joined the ever growing list of cities enacting benchmarking laws with the Existing Commercial Building Energy Performance Ordinance. The city hopes the ordinance will encourage commercial buildings to invest in energy conservation measures and reduce the city's overall carbon footprint. As detailed in the chart below, a small reduction in GHG emissions in the commercial sector could go a long way toward helping the city achieve its emission reduction goals. 

United Housing: Conserving Water and Saving Money 

Last week we wrote about water performance in multifamily buildings and mentioned the deep savings opportunities around water conservation. This week we want to highlight a progressive building owner who took the time to figure out which of their buildings were performing poorly, get a water audit and then enact the recommendations of the audit. 

Back in December...

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' roadmap to address the threat of global warming, the 2008 "Global Warming Solutions Act," calls for an 10-25% statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Much of this reduction must come from the commercial and industrial buildings, as they account for over half of the state's energy use.  Massachusetts is proposing to develop and implement a building energy labeling program that includes both asset and operational energy ratings.  The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) issued this report, which outlines salient issues and strategies.