Evaluating the feasibility of achieving building performance standards targets

Abstract

Building performance standards (BPS) are a promising policy tool for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing buildings, and have become increasingly popular among major U.S. cities and elsewhere globally. Assessing the scope and extent of the investment required by BPS is critical for shaping their design and preparing jurisdictions for the effort ahead. The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of achieving BPS targets. Municipal benchmarking data for three property types—offices, multifamily housing, and K-12 schools—in 10 U.S. cities was analyzed and compared to the site energy use intensity (EUI) targets in ASHRAE Standard 100–2018. The results show that BPS are a high effort, high reward policy tool with 65–85% of benchmarked buildings not meeting the target and median required reductions of around 30–40% leading to a total energy use reduction of 25–45% for most cities and property types. Median simple payback periods for implementing the required retrofits were estimated between 10 and 20 years. However, the results also show that the majority of BPS savings could be achieved by retrofitting a small number of buildings and these policies could be better tailored to minimize the retrofit effort and maximize the environmental rewards.