Energy Benchmarking & ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

Lesson 1 • Regulatory and Voluntary Drivers

Explains mandatory disclosure laws, voluntary certification programs, and investor-driven reporting requirements. Motivates why benchmarking compliance matters professionally.

Lesson 2 • What Energy Benchmarking Means

Defines benchmarking as comparing a building's energy use against peers or standards. Anchors all subsequent tool-based work in conceptual clarity.

Lesson 3 • Building Types and Energy Profiles

Surveys how energy consumption patterns differ across office, retail, healthcare, and multifamily buildings. Prepares learners to select correct property types in Portfolio Manager.

Lesson 4 • Data Quality and Accuracy Principles

Covers the impact of incomplete or incorrect data on benchmarking scores. Sets quality standards applied in every later data-entry module.

Lesson 1 • Sharing and Collaboration Features

Demonstrates how to share properties with other users, auditors, and utilities. Enables team-based benchmarking workflows covered in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Platform Overview and Account Setup

Walks through account registration, dashboard layout, and user roles. Establishes the starting point for all hands-on platform exercises.

Lesson 3 • Adding and Configuring Properties

Covers property creation, selecting the correct property type, and entering gross floor area. Accurate property setup is prerequisite to valid scoring.

Lesson 4 • Navigating Meters and Energy Data

Introduces the meter module, fuel types, and the relationship between meters and properties. Prepares learners for the full meter data entry chapter.

Lesson 1 • Bulk Data Upload with Spreadsheet Templates

Covers the Portfolio Manager Excel template format and upload workflow. Enables efficient data entry for portfolios with many meters or years of history.

Lesson 2 • Manual Meter Data Entry

Guides learners through entering monthly utility bill data field by field. Accuracy here directly determines the reliability of all performance scores.

Lesson 3 • Identifying and Correcting Data Gaps

Teaches how to detect missing months, overlapping entries, and anomalous spikes. Clean, continuous data is required for a valid ENERGY STAR score.

Lesson 4 • Utility Data Exchange and Automation

Explains automated data feeds from utilities via web services and third-party connectors. Reduces manual effort and improves data timeliness for large portfolios.

Lesson 1 • Common Scoring Errors and Fixes

Identifies the most frequent mistakes that inflate or deflate scores and provides correction steps. Ensures learners produce defensible, audit-ready results.

Lesson 2 • Eligible vs. Ineligible Property Types

Lists property types that qualify for a 1–100 score and those that receive only EUI metrics. Prevents misapplication of the score to unsupported building types.

Lesson 3 • Interpreting Score Changes Over Time

Covers how to read score trends, distinguish real efficiency gains from data artifacts, and communicate progress. Builds analytical skills for portfolio reporting.

Lesson 4 • Role of Property Use Details in Scoring

Shows how operating hours, occupancy, and climate zone shift the expected EUI baseline. Learners understand why two identical buildings can have different scores.

Lesson 1 • Certification Eligibility Requirements

Details the score threshold, data completeness rules, and property type requirements for certification. Establishes the checklist learners will use in practice.

Lesson 2 • Licensed Professional Verification Process

Explains the role of a licensed professional (PE, RA, or equivalent) in verifying on-site conditions. Learners understand how to coordinate this step efficiently.

Lesson 3 • Submitting the Certification Application

Covers the online submission workflow, required attachments, and EPA review timeline. Prepares learners to manage client expectations during the review period.

Lesson 4 • Maintaining and Renewing Certification

Addresses annual recertification requirements, data updates, and score monitoring. Ensures learners can sustain certification over a building's lifecycle.

Lesson 1 • Generating Standard Portfolio Reports

Demonstrates how to run Summary, Comparison, and Data Request reports within Portfolio Manager. These reports are the primary deliverables for most client engagements.

Lesson 2 • Communicating Results to Stakeholders

Covers data visualization, executive summary writing, and translating scores into financial terms. Bridges technical benchmarking outputs and business decision-making.

Lesson 3 • Benchmarking Against Peers and Targets

Explains how to set internal targets, compare against national medians, and use custom baselines. Enables goal-setting conversations with building owners and executives.

Lesson 4 • Organizing a Multi-Building Portfolio

Covers grouping properties, using labels and filters, and structuring a portfolio for efficient management. Organization is the foundation of scalable benchmarking.

Lesson 1 • Responding to Audits and Data Challenges

Prepares learners to respond to regulatory audits, data challenges from authorities, and third-party verification requests. Protects clients from penalties through proactive documentation.

Lesson 2 • Submitting Data to Authorities

Walks through the submission workflow for regulatory portals that accept Portfolio Manager data. Reduces errors and missed deadlines through a repeatable process.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Mandatory Disclosure Requirements

Explains how jurisdictions require annual benchmarking submissions and public score disclosure. Frames compliance as a professional responsibility with legal consequences.

Lesson 4 • Managing Compliance Across a Portfolio

Addresses tracking submission status for multiple buildings, managing deadlines, and delegating tasks. Scales compliance management for property managers with large portfolios.

Lesson 1 • Tracking Efficiency Projects in Portfolio Manager

Covers the Goals, Improvements, and Checklists module for documenting completed projects. Provides an auditable record of efficiency investments and their measured impact.

Lesson 2 • Linking Benchmarking to Energy Audits

Shows how benchmarking scores identify audit candidates and how audit findings feed back into Portfolio Manager. Creates a closed-loop performance improvement cycle.

Lesson 3 • Building a Long-Term Energy Strategy

Guides learners in setting science-based targets, planning net-zero pathways, and embedding benchmarking into organizational culture. Culminates the course with strategic leadership skills.

Lesson 4 • Capital Planning with Benchmarking Data

Demonstrates how EUI trends and score gaps inform multi-year capital improvement plans. Connects energy data to financial planning cycles used by asset managers.