Energy Performance Rating Research Articles

An investigation of the impact of energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings on residential property prices in Oxfordshire: a hedonic study

ABSTRACT This paper investigates whether energy performance ratings measured by Energy Efficiency Certificates (EPCs) affect the sales prices of residential properties in Oxfordshire, UK. The study makes use of 186,913 sales transactions that took place between 1995 and 2023. Using a hedonic regression estimation, a nonlinear pattern between energy efficiency levels and the sales prices of dwellings, are observed. The results also show that there is evidence of a significant positive relationship between EPC ratings and detached, semi-detached, terraced houses and flats. In the second part of this study, we examine the effects of age, county and type of dwelling on price premiums. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the only study, using the most comprehensive literature; and the largest, most up to date available data in analysing the Oxfordshire real-estate market, in terms of energy efficiency and price premiums.

Does Energy Performance Rating Affect Office Rents? A Study of the UK Office Market

Environmental concerns and the rise in energy costs have heightened the focus on reducing CO2 emissions within the built environment. By concentrating on the office market in the UK, where a significant portion of a service-based economy operates, progress towards achieving emission reduction goals could be accelerated. Nevertheless, the speed at which this sector can enhance its environmental impact and whether individuals are willing to invest in energy-efficient measures and new energy-efficient buildings has remained uncertain. This paper investigates the influence of varying Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings on the rental rates of office buildings in the UK, drawing on an extensive dataset spanning the years of 2011–2021. Our research seeks to determine whether there exists a willingness to pay for more energy-efficient office spaces by assessing whether there is a rental premium associated with office building with higher EPC ratings. Furthermore, we examine whether buildings failing to meet minimum energy efficiency standard (defined as EPC ratings of F and G) experience rental discounts. Our findings, which take into account heteroscedasticity and various disaggregations within the office market, consistently reveal a willingness to pay for energy-efficient office spaces.

How well do building energy performance certificates predict heat loss?

This paper evaluates the predictive power of building energy performance certificates on home heat loss. Improving the insulative capacity of residential properties is a policy priority in many markets, with building energy performance certificates serving as a benchmark. We exploit a rich panel dataset of high-frequency thermostat readings, coupled with data detailing weather and building characteristics, to identify an ex-post metric of heat loss. Our results show a significant effect of building energy performance rating on indoor temperature, a proxy for home heat loss. However, we do not find evidence of a distinct gradient in performance between building energy rating categories, as suggested by ex-ante estimates of home heat loss. The finding highlights that directly linking policy targets to a particular energy performance certificate standard can lead to an outcome that deviates significantly from what is anticipated.

A Semantically Data-Driven Classification Framework for Energy Consumption in Buildings

Encouraged by the European Union, all European countries need to enforce solutions to reduce non-renewable energy consumption in buildings. The reduction of energy (heating, domestic hot water, and appliances consumption) aims for the vision of near-zero energy consumption as a requirement goal for constructing buildings. In this paper, we review the available standards, tools and frameworks on the energy performance of buildings. Additionally, this work investigates if energy performance ratings can be obtained with energy consumption data from IoT devices and if the floor size and energy consumption values are enough to determine a dwellings’ energy performance rating. The essential outcome of this work is a data-driven prediction tool for energy performance labels that can run automatically. The tool is based on the cutting edge kNN classification algorithm and trained on open datasets with actual building data such as those coming from the IoT paradigm. Additionally, it assesses the results of the prediction by analysing its accuracy values. Furthermore, an approach to semantic annotations for energy performance certification data with currently available ontologies is presented. Use cases for an extension of this work are also discussed in the end.

Creating Domestic Building Thermal Performance Ratings Using Smart Meter Data

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are ratings of domestic building energy performance mandated across the European Union. Their aim is to provide a reliable assessment of a building’s energy performance whilst accounting for non-building effects such as weather and occupancy. Current rating methods, based on theoretical calculations, can introduce significant error from an inability to estimate real building performance. Other methods using real energy data cannot isolate building performance from other effects due to low data resolution. The installation of smart meters in large proportions of the housing stock in European Union member states presents an opportunity. Harnessing high-resolution energy data can create or inform building energy performance ratings with reduced error and at scale. This critical review explores the challenges and opportunities of using smart meter data in building energy ratings, focusing primarily on quantifying the thermal performance of the building and heating system. The research gaps in this emerging field are identified, including: demonstrating that the rating is truly independent of the behaviour of specific occupants; the additional data inputs that add most value in combination with smart meter data; and reducing uncertainty whilst limiting the complexity of the measurement and calculation. Practice Relevance Increasing evidence shows current EPCs are unreliable. This unreliability can affect their usefulness to householders and the provision of evidence for policy decisions. The incorporation of metrics constructed from smart meter data can provide a rating of building thermal performance that better reflects the actual performance of a dwelling. The potential advantages of incorporating smart meter data would improve the reliability of building energy ratings and quantify the rating uncertainty on a per dwelling basis, which would be useful for risk assessment to inform finance and retrofit decisions. Technical challenges are identified and explained for the inclusion of smart meter data. These are summarised as follows: ensuring that ratings remain independent of occupant behaviours/practices; and identifying which additional data inputs increase reliability and enable more informed retrofit decision-making whilst keeping the rating cost low and the calculation complexity tractable.

Shading and layout influence on flats energy performance of an apartment building

Giving the need for environment protection and energy need reduction, especially in the building sector, it is important to clearly understand what influences, and to what extent, buildings’ energy performance. In this work, an apartment building has been considered, and the influence of shadings and of flats layout on the energy performance ratings are evaluated. The case study is a building of the ‘90s, which has been demolished and re-built (2016) according to the actual energy requirements. For each of the 16 flats of the building, the energy certificate has been retrieved in the two configurations: before and after reconstruction. From the analysis of the specific energy consumption, and of their components (i.e. energy need for ventilation, transmission losses, solar gains), in the two configurations, a comparison amongst the flats has been drawn. Results show that the apartment layout influences the solar gains, but this influence (in percentage) is higher in the “ex-ante” configuration than in the “ex-post”. Similarly, the energy gains are more relevant in the “expost” configuration, in which some apartments, although having higher dispersing surface, result to be more efficient due to their favourable exposition.

Ambient air temperature and degree-day data analysis of the period 2006–2017 for Cyprus

Heating degree days (HDDs) and cooling degree days (CDDs) are widespread climatic indicators that depict the extremity and duration of ambient air temperature values. Over the years, they have been proven to be a useful tool for a reasonably accurate estimation of space heating and cooling requirements, as well as for the buildings’ energy performance rating and their compliance with legislative requirements. Reliable degree-days (DDs) data are a prerequisite for using the degree-day methods, so is determining the DDs values on a local and regional level, with respect to climate differentiations. The aim of this study is the calculation of HDDs and CDDs for Cyprus at various base temperatures, as such data cannot be found for Cyprus in the literature. The temperature data used were provided by the Cyprus Department of Meteorology, and these are the average daily dry-bulb ambient air temperature values as well as the daily maximum and minimum air temperature values for the period 2006–2017. Data were recorded at five meteorological stations at Paphos, Larnaca, Athalassa, Limassol and Prodromos. Monthly and annually HDDs and CDDs were calculated, for 11 base temperatures, as well as monthly and annually average temperatures for the period 2006–2017, by utilizing the DDs calculation technique of average daily temperature as proposed by ASHRAE. Additionally, an analysis of the variability and the trends of the HDDs and CDDs at the five meteorological stations during the 12-year period were performed. Finally, conclusions were drawn concerning the development of climate over the last 12 years in Cyprus.

Household energy efficiency and health: Area-level analysis of hospital admissions in England

IntroductionFuel poverty affects up to 35% of European homes, which represents a significant burden on society and healthcare systems. Draught proofing homes to prevent heat loss, improved glazing, insulation and heating (energy efficiency measures) can make more homes more affordable to heat. This has prompted significant investment in energy efficiency upgrades for around 40% of UK households to reduce the impact of fuel poverty. Despite some inconsistent evidence, household energy efficiency interventions can improve cardiovascular and respiratory health outcomes. However, the health benefits of these interventions have not been fully explored; this is the focus of this study. MethodsIn this cross sectional ecological study, we conducted two sets of analyses at different spatial resolution to explore population data on housing energy efficiency measures and hospital admissions at the area-level (counts grouped over a 3-year period). Housing data were obtained from three data sets covering housing across England (Household Energy Efficiency Database), Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and, in the South West of England, the Devon Home Analytics Portal. These databases provided data aggregated to Lower Area Super Output Area and postcode level (Home Analytics Portal only). These datasets provided measures of both state (e.g. EPC ratings) and intervention (e.g. number of boiler replacements), aggregated spatially and temporally to enable cross-sectional analyses with health outcome data. Hospital admissions for adult (over 18 years) asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were obtained from the Hospital Episode Statistics database for the national (1st April 2011 to 31st March 2014) and Devon, South West of England (1st April 2014 to 31st March 2017) analyses. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used to describe the associations between small area household energy efficiency measures and hospital admissions. Three main analyses were undertaken to investigate the relationships between; 1) household energy efficiency improvements (i.e. improved glazing, insulation and boiler upgrades); 2) higher levels of energy efficiency ratings (measured by Energy Performance Certificate ratings); 3) energy efficiency improvements and ratings (i.e. physical improvements and rating assessed by the Standard Assessment Procedure) and hospital admissions. ResultsIn the national analyses, household energy performance certificate ratings ranged from 37 to 83 (mean 61.98; Standard Deviation 5.24). There were a total of 312,837 emergency admissions for asthma, 587,770 for COPD and 839,416 for CVD. While analyses for individual energy efficiency metrics (i.e. boiler upgrades, draught proofing, glazing, loft and wall insulation) were mixed; a unit increase in mean energy performance rating was associated with increases of around 0.5% in asthma and CVD admissions, and 1% higher COPD admission rates. Admission rates were also influenced by the type of dwelling, tenure status (e.g. home owner versus renting), living in a rural area, and minimum winter temperature. DiscussionDespite a range of limitations and some mixed and contrasting findings across the national and local analyses, there was some evidence that areas with more energy efficiency improvements resulted in higher admission rates for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This builds on existing evidence highlighting the complex relationships between health and housing. While energy efficiency measures can improve health outcomes (especially when targeting those with chronic respiratory illness), reduced household ventilation rates can impact indoor air quality for example and increase the risk of diseases such as asthma. Alternatively, these findings could be due to the ecological study design, reverse causality, or the non-detection of more vulnerable subpopulations, as well as the targeting of areas with poor housing stock, low income households, and the lack of “whole house approaches” when retrofitting the existing housing stock. ConclusionTo be sustainable, household energy efficiency policies and resulting interventions must account for whole house approaches (i.e. consideration of the whole house and occupant lifestyles). These must consider more alternative ‘greener’ and more sustainable measures, which are capable of accounting for variable lifestyles, as well as the need for adequate heating and ventilation. Larger natural experiments and more complex modelling are needed to further investigate the impact of ongoing dramatic changes in the housing stock and health. Study implicationsThis study supports the need for more holistic approaches to delivering healthier indoor environments, which must consider a dynamic and complex system with multiple interactions between a range of interrelated factors. These need to consider the drivers and pressures (e.g. quality of the built environment and resident behaviours) resulting in environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes.

Energy Performance Evaluation of Two Automotive-Part Manufacturer Based On Astra Green Energy Rating System

Energy audit is essential to reduce energy consumption for a sustainable industry. Cost reduction through energy saving benefits the industry to stay competitive in the market and reducing its carbon footprint. Manufacturing industry energy usage is characterized by high consumption in heating and cooling process. The paper presents the walk-through audit results of two automotive-part manufacturing companies. Both companies are categorized as small and medium companies that consume energy below 6000 toe/year. Firstly, companies submitted document to the auditor. Desktop evaluation was performed to calculate and rate current energy performance rating. Then, a walk-through audit was performed to finalize the companies energy performance rating based on Astra green energy rating system. Analysis based on companies energy performance indicators are presented to show potential energy saving.

Alliance for deep renovation in buildings. A step forward to the common European voluntary certification scheme

The ALDREN project (ALliance for Deep RENovation in Buildings) is the extended development and the implementation of a common European Voluntary Certification Scheme (EVCS) for non-residential buildings based on the EPBD Art. 11 (9) and CEN / ISO standards. ALDREN is a coordination and support action (CSA). It focuses on existing tools and schemes (partly developed by the European Commission), on networking, standardization, awareness raising and communications. The main goal of ALDREN is to encourage the construction sector value chain stakeholders to undertake deep renovation projects on their properties. Issuing completed and verified Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) before and after renovation, are to contribute to the development of innovative financial valuation of building assets and financing instruments (e.g. integrating loans with differentiated interest rates) and establishing business case for deep renovation to motivate private investment. The core objectives of the ALDREN project are: • To provide a harmonized European energy performance rating methodology based on the European Voluntary Certification Scheme (EVCS) verified by measurements to increase comparability, confidence and market uptake by standardized solutions (CEN/ISO standards) at European scale; • To associate low energy renovation with high quality indoor environments to trigger renovation and to promote solutions supporting health and well-being; • To align market recognition of high quality with enhanced building value and capacity building. The ALDREN overarching outcome will be the infrastructure to enable market transformation for deep renovation and directly support the EU policies (EED, EPBD). Specific solutions and step-by-step renovation process will be integrated in a consistent, common way in a Building Renovation Passport (BRP). The ALDREN BRP will be aligned with the GABC (Global Alliance for Building and Construction) Building Passport initiative, seconded by DG Grow and DG Environment and with the current initiatives for residential buildings. The non-residential sector (office buildings and hotels) is to be considered as a first step. To demonstrate the ALDREN approach , the upgraded EVCS will be implemented in pilot office buildings and hotels in different climates over the European territory. However, the ALDREN approach could be adapted to other market sectors, in a further development. ALDREN renovation protocols may be used as individual modules in existing schemes or as standalone tool, being potentially overtaken by Member States of the European Union.

The relationship between airtightness and ventilation in new UK dwellings

The UK’s Air Tightness Testing and Measurement Association competent persons scheme collects pressure test data and metadata from the majority of new build dwellings in the UK. This article uses the dataset to investigate the importance of the ventilation strategy in airtightness design and construction. Design and measured airtightness were tested for association with declared ventilation strategy. It was found that ventilation strategy makes a statistically significant difference to airtightness; however, this difference is too small to be practically relevant. Properties with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) were shown to have a mean designed air permeability only 0.46 m3/m2h lower than naturally ventilated dwellings. Seventy-three per cent of homes with MVHR have design airtightness greater than or equal to 5 m3/m2h and 17% of naturally ventilated dwellings have design airtightness less than 5 m3/m2h. We discuss how current design is not maximising the CO2, cost and air quality benefit of each ventilation strategy. A new approach to regulatory compliance is proposed, which explicitly links the designed airtightness and chosen ventilation system. It is suggested that compliance could then be achieved using a set of airtightness ranges linked to appropriate ventilation strategies. This could be expected to result in reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions for new build homes compared to the current approach and would also potentially lead to better outcomes for occupants in terms of indoor air quality. Practical application: Analysis of a large database of the airtightness of new UK dwellings found that ventilation strategy makes very little difference to airtightness design. For dwellings with MVHR, the results suggest that infiltration levels are too high to maximise the energy savings; for naturally ventilated homes, there may be air quality issues. Coupling airtightness design and ventilation strategy can reduce a dwelling’s energy demand and can support achieving the required energy performance rating.

Building energy performance: sphere area as a fair normalization concept

ABSTRACT Residential building energy performance indicators are compared with a different approach for the normalization of the characteristic yearly primary energy use. The purpose is to analyse which approach results in a fair assessment of more compact, energy-efficient building geometries, and of smaller building size. A normalization by floor area is shown to result in a poorer energy performance rating for smaller buildings. The notional building approach, as recently introduced in various countries, does not lead to a fair assessment of efficient geometries. Furthermore, the choice of reference characteristics to calculate the energy performance rating has a different impact on buildings with different characteristics. An average building approach is introduced as an improvement of the notional building approach. Form-efficient buildings are found to achieve a lower energy performance rating, but the choice of the reference characteristics is still present to a limited extent. As a second alternative, it is proposed to normalize the energy use by the sphere-area approach: the area of a sphere with the same volume as the rated building. This method leads to a fair assessment of form-efficient buildings and creates an incentive for more efficient building geometries and typologies.

Consumer behavior in energy-efficient homes: The limited merits of energy performance ratings as benchmarks

In Germany, policy-induced energy efficiency improvements typically aim at reducing primary energy consumption. Private households, on the contrary, pursue the maximization of wellbeing or, in microeconomics jargon, the maximization of utility of the occupants. There is a marked difference between upfront-calculated energy performance ratings (EPRs) and actual heat energy consumption (HEC). From an energy and environmental policy point of view, deviations of energy consumption from ex ante calculated EPRs is problematic, as it jeopardizes their usefulness for (prospective) homeowners, policy-makers and researchers relying on EPRs as a guidance. The EPR-HEC gaps reported are, apart from deviations from the mean aggregate values (i.e. heterogeneity), often attributed to anticipated or unanticipated behavioral effects. From an energy economist's point of view, energy rebound induced by lowered costs per unit of energy service due to increased energy efficiency is one explanation. The related literature almost entirely treats building-specific EPRs as universal standards, trying to explain the empirically observed discrepancies. In this paper, we investigate to what extent the current EPR scheme in place in Germany today can address behavioral issues. To this end, based on two different multi-family housing data sets for Germany and regression analysis, we empirically investigate the deviations between EPRs used in the regulatory norms and the HEC levels observed in reality. We find evidence that it is not necessarily the behavioral dimension, but rather the static and mostly technically guided calculation of the EPRs itself that accounts for the major part of the deviations. We conclude that there is indeed a need for further improvements in the field of EPR regulation and methodology.

A framework for building-related carbon coefficients and primary energy factors for networked electricity supplies

This Technical Note describes a framework for handling the inherent complexities of carbon emission and primary energy factors for networked electricity supply systems within building energy codes and similar policy instruments. The proposed framework reflects the main characteristics of carbon emissions from such networked supplies, while retaining a level of complexity (and simplification) comparable to that of procedures used in existing building energy codes. The main issues that are addressed are the time-varying nature of factors for networked supply, the impact of variability and curtailment for variable and intermittent renewable sources of electricity and relationship between “marginal” factors and “average” factors. These are important issues as the currently common use of annual system-average factors can result in misleading guidance as to the most effective ways of reducing carbon emissions or primary energy demand. The note first explains the relationship between building energy performance ratings and networked electric supplies. It then discusses the characteristics of electricity demand and the networked supply systems before proposing and discussing the framework. Practical application: A framework that can improve the reliability of building energy performance rating based on carbon emissions or primary energy factors.

Hot-cool box calorimetric determination of the solar heat gain coefficient and the U-value of internal shading devices

In several developing countries, energy performance rating programs are currently in progress. Complex fenestration systems (CFS) are building components that play a key role in reducing energy consumption. The development and testing of equipment is central for beginning the energy efficiency rating process of complex glazing systems in these countries. This paper validates the use of a low-cost hot-cold box calorimeter for measurement of the solar heat gain coefficient (SGHC) and overall heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of interior shading systems. This work aims to determine the energy performance of three types of often employed shading systems: solar control films, interior horizontal venetian blinds, and indoor drapery curtains. Results show that the energy performance of solar shading devices studied depends on both their morphological and optical properties. The shading systems analyzed present similar U-values, where technological features are represented by the thickness and the thermal conductivity of the material. SHGC is mainly defined by the transmittance and, to a lesser extent, the absorptance of the systems, which differ significantly according to the analyzed shading device. The three types of curtains analyzed demonstrate an SHGC dependent on the fabrics openness factor: jacquard curtains (openness factor 0.05) present a SHGC of 0.7, whereas organza curtains (openness factor 0.45) have a SHGC of 0.82. The SHGC of the venetian blinds analyzed varies on average 36% according to the slat tilt (0°–45°). The solar control films examined modify their solar gain according to their spectral selectivity.

Assessing Lighting Energy Saving Potential from Daylight Harvesting in Office Buildings Based on Code Compliance & Simulation Techniques: A Comparison

Daylighting is a cornerstone strategy aiming at reducing a building's energy consumption. Daylight responsive dimming is a proven, mature technology, that significantly reduces lighting energy use, which in turn, affects both energy consumption and peak loads as well. Although in Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD), the use of a daylighting harvesting system is encouraged, the specifications are rather limited based on EN 15193:2007. According to literature, the potential for lighting energy savings from daylight integration, can approach 60.0%. Consequently, a more accurate and detailed calculation method could possible result in downgrading a building's energy performance rating, when compared with simplified procedures that may underestimate these savings.The paper builds on the authors’ previous work, providing an overview of the methods and techniques used to estimate lighting energy savings due to daylight harvesting. An extensive comparison is carried out between the resulting energy savings as estimated by the method adopted in EN 15193:2007 and its variation by the Greek Regulation for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings (KENAK), with savings calculated by more complex calculation methods that require the use of simulation tools.According to the results, great differences are observed in the estimated lighting energy savings between simulation and EN15193:2007. These differences still exist even when the parameters used in EN15193 are calculated by an external software affecting energy performance certificate rating.

From the Building Level Energy Performance Assessment to the National Level: How are Uncertainties Handled in Building Stock Models

A considerable share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is caused by the energy consumption for space heating and cooling in residential buildings. In Germany for instance about one third of the end energy consumption is accounted to space heating and cooling of buildings. Consequently, efforts to increase energy efficiency and substitute non-renewable energy with renewables are high. To explore the technical, economic and social effects of environmental mitigation strategies in order to increase energy efficiency in the building stock various models are used. Many of these models have to deal with the challenges of how to estimate energy demand levels. Derived from the recent development in this field researchers, planners and politicians are increasingly relying on energy models with integrated energy performance rating for environmental policy and strategy evaluation. However, energy assessments suffer from the common barriers of data access and data granularity. Therefore the approaches of energy building stock models comprise a mixture and variety of methods and have limits, which will be addressed in this contribution. The goal is to show how uncertainty is considered in existing models. This contribution provides general overview and key takeaways from the insight into different models and methodologies on the different levels of detail of building stock models.

Selection of Energy Conservation Measures for Building Energy Retrofit: a Comparison between Quasi-steady State and Dynamic Simulations in the Hands of Users

Purpose: Quasi-steady state simulations have played a pivoting role to expand the user group of simulation to design engineers and architects in Korea. Initially they are introduced in the market as a building energy performance rating tool. In domestic practice, however, quasi-steady state simulations seem to be regarded as a de facto simulation only available for energy retrofit. Selection of ECMs and economic feasibility analysis are being decided through these tools, which implies that running these tools has become a norm step of the Investment-grade Audit. Method: This study aims at identifying issues and problems with the current practice via test cases, analyzing the reasons and opportunities, and then eventually suggesting proper uses of quasi-steady state and dynamic simulations. Result: The functionality of quasi-steady state simulations is more optimized to the rating. If they are to used for energy retrofits, their off-the-shelf functions also need to be expanded for customization and detailed reports. Yet their roles may be limited only to the go/no go decision; because their algorithms are still weak at precisely estimating energy and load savings that are required for making investment decisions compared to detailed simulations.

An empirical comparison of voluntary and mandatory building energy performance disclosure outcomes

In 2010, the federal Australian government mandated the disclosure of energy performance ratings in advertisements for sale or lease of large commercial office properties. Prior to 2010, participation in the rating scheme was voluntary. This study first develops a theoretical model of mandatory disclosure policy effectiveness. Then, with a dataset of all ratings since inception of the voluntary regime in 1999, it tests the expectation that initial voluntary adopters have a greater tendency towards environmental stewardship and are more likely to manage and invest in environmental performance improvements, potentially dampening the effectiveness of mandatory disclosure policy. However, multiple statistical models of certification are unable to reject the null hypothesis that there is no difference in energy efficiency outcomes between the mandatory and voluntary adopters at equivalent stages. For urban policymakers, the extrapolation of voluntary adopter performance appears to be a good – perhaps even conservative – estimation of mandatory energy performance disclosure outcomes.

Development of an evaluation process for green and non-green buildings focused on energy performance of G-SEED and LEED

This study aims to develop an evaluation process for comparing the energy performances of Green and non-Green buildings. The information on the building attributes and energy consumption of 455 multi-family housing complexes (MFHCs) in 2014, including 321 non-certified MFHCs and 126 MFHCs that accredited Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design (G-SEED) certification (an official Green Building certification in South Korea) and 8 MFHCs that accredited Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED) certification, were applied to the empirical study. Data-mining techniques are applied to develop the comparison groups considering various building attributes, and the database was classified into four groups based on the average enclosed area per household (AEA). It was shown that the large-AEA groups (i.e., Group 4, over 143.47 m2) had less energy use intensity (EUI) than the small-AEA groups (i.e., Group 1, under 97.04 m2). The mean of site EUI for Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were significantly different (125.29, 116.35, 110.89, and 101.00 kWh/m2∙y, respectively). While the G-SEED- and LEED-certified MFHCs were considered to have up to 10 and 15% energy savings, respectively, compared to all non-certified MFHCs, the comparative analysis by the developed Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 revealed that the G-SEED-certified MFHCs and the non-certified MFHCs had no significant differences in energy performance. Therefore, the energy performance rating system of G-SEED should be revised. The proposed energy performance evaluation process can also be useful in identifying the energy performance of other buildings.