Technical Assistance

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are a key policy mechanism to significantly and speedily reduce the energy use and emissions of existing buildings. BPS is primarily being implemented by cities, counties, and states as a means to reach their climate goals.  Policymakers and implementing agencies in jurisdictions planning a BPS are grappling with a host policy design and implementation questions, such as:

• What metrics should be used?
• What building-level targets are needed to meet 2040 goals?
• How can I build a BPS policy that is equitable to a wide variety of building owners?
• How can I best support building owners throughout the BPS compliance life-cycle?
• How much do different technology packages help meet BPS targets? 
• How can I model the investment costs necessary to upgrade buildings to meet BPS targets?  What is the cost-benefit of these investments?
• What tools are needed for compliance with these policies?
• How can I track my policy and compliance process over time?

These questions can be addressed through data-driven policy analysis that provide a robust basis for stakeholder decision-making.  Furthermore, there is a need for standardized approaches that will reduce transaction costs for cities as well as portfolio owners that span jurisdictions. 

Berkeley Lab provides technical assistance and develops standardized methods to accelerate BPS in cities and states, in close collaboration with these jurisdictions, advocacy and industry organizations. The policy analysis primarily uses energy epidemiological approaches, combining data from tax records, energy benchmarking ordinances, the Building Performance Database, ComStock, and other data sources. We are also providing technical support to jurisdictions on using software tools such as SEED, UBID, BETTER, Audit Template, and others to support BPS compliance. 

To date, BTUS researchers have provided or are providing technical assistance to:

Cities + Counties

• New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Berkeley, Seattle, Washington DC, Aspen, Sacramento, Chula Vista, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Milwaukee, San Luis Obispo, LA County

States

• Washington, Maryland, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Pennsylvania

 

In addition, Berkeley Lab collaborated with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to support an ASHRAE guide on BPS. 

Publications: 

Walter, T., Mathew, P. (2021). GHG policy impacts for Seattle’s buildings: targets, timing, and scope. Buildings and Cities, 2(1), 283–301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.81

Bergfeld, K., Mathew, P., Duer-Balkind, M., Perakis, J., Khah, P.N., Walter, T. Held, A. Making Data-Driven Policy Decisions for the Nation’s First Building Energy Performance Standards. ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. August 2020. American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.  https://doi.org/10.20357/B7831V