The Building Genome Project: Tapping Into the $370B Global Energy Efficiency Opportunity One City at a Time
16 April 2014 - 11:02PM
Marketwired
The Building Genome Project: Tapping Into the $370B Global Energy
Efficiency Opportunity One City at a Time
Initial Analysis of More Than 30,000 Buildings in New York City
Identifies Hundreds of Millions in Potential Energy Cost Savings;
Demonstrates the Power of Evaluating Energy Efficiency at Scale
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 16, 2014) - Commercial buildings
in New York City could save hundreds of millions of dollars in
annual energy expenses through three efficiency changes. This
finding, based on an analysis of more than 30,000 buildings, is
part of the Building Genome Projectâ„¢ -- an ambitious effort to mine
and analyze publicly available building data to gain a deeper
understanding of how buildings consume energy and the energy
efficiency opportunities they present. New York City was the first
major U.S. city analyzed as part of this project.
Conducted by Retroficiency, the Building Genome Project maps the
hundreds of distinct markers that influence how a building consumes
energy. These markers, composed of mechanical equipment,
construction materials, fuel sources, operational characteristics
and more, make up a building's unique genome. The project
combines publicly available genomic information with analytics to
help create unique physics-based energy models of each building
using Retroficiency's Building Efficiency Intelligence (BEI)
platform. The energy models estimate how each building consumes
energy -- on an end-use level, every hour of every day -- and make
it easy to understand how each building could improve under
different energy-saving scenarios.
"Energy efficiency has long been accepted as the most
cost-effective way to reduce building energy use, but the
opportunity remains largely untapped," said Bennett Fisher,
co-founder and CEO, Retroficiency. "The Building Genome Project
demonstrates the power of creating an energy model of every
building to identify the efficiency opportunities that currently
exist and to accelerate the shift in how the energy industry and
policy makers address the world's energy challenge at scale."
New York City's Building Genome -- One Degree Away From Energy
Savings Analyzing only publicly available building data, the
project mapped the genomic characteristics of New York City's
commercial building portfolio to develop physics-based energy
models of more than 30,000 buildings.
Using these models, Retroficiency then ran three example energy
efficiency scenarios to understand their relative impact on New
York City's commercial building portfolio. Based on these three
scenarios alone, commercial buildings in New York City could
potentially save almost $400 million in annual energy costs. The
project further demonstrates how both small and large efficiency
changes and measures can impact energy consumption and drive
savings.
The three scenarios selected are not designed to define the best
or most important efficiency changes. They're designed to provide
representative guidance at the zip code level on the potential
impact of similar changes on the building portfolio. Findings among
the 30,000+ commercial buildings analyzed include the
following:
- New York City could save $145 million on annual energy costs if
every building turned the thermostat up one degree in the summer
and down one degree in the winter.
- New York City could save $227 million on annual energy costs if
every building with old windows installed new, efficient
windows.
- New York City could save $10 million annually if every building
with an oil boiler that uses number 4 or 6 oil replaced it with a
natural gas boiler.
The Building Genome Project will continue to analyze major
cities across the United States to present scenarios that
demonstrate the massive energy efficiency opportunities currently
locked in buildings.
To learn more and access the Building Genome Project report,
please visit
http://www2.retroficiency.com/the-building-genome-project.
To view the accompanying Infographic, please visit
http://www.retroficiency.com/retroficiency-blog/the-building-genome-project-launches-its-first-city.
If you'd like to suggest scenarios, data sets or cities to be
analyzed as part of the project, please email
genome@retroficiency.com.
About Retroficiency, Inc. Retroficiency is the building
efficiency intelligence company for utilities and energy service
providers. Its proprietary software platform creates a unique
energy model of any building to provide actionable insights that
enable the fastest, most cost-effective way to target buildings,
engage customers, convert projects and track opportunities at
scale. Retroficiency is trusted by leading organizations to improve
their energy efficiency programs and services, and has evaluated
more than two billion square feet of building space since March
2011. For more information, please visit www.retroficiency.com.
Media Contacts Brian Merrill fama PR (for Retroficiency)
Retroficiency@famapr.com (617) 986-5005