{"id":1080,"date":"2020-08-02T00:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T00:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd2030network.wpengine.com\/dallas\/?p=1080"},"modified":"2023-02-08T04:15:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T04:15:46","slug":"the-earth-is-a-nice-place-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2030districts.org\/dallas\/the-earth-is-a-nice-place-to-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on benchmarking and ENERGY STAR certification for commercial buildings impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

From ENERGY STAR for Commercial Buildings and Industrial Plants Update on benchmarking and Energy Star certification for commercial buildings impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic<\/p>\n

“Thank you for your patience as we continue to assess the impacts on 1-100 ENERGY STAR scores resulting from changes in building operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are pleased to share with you this updated guidance on benchmarking in Portfolio Manager and applying for 2020 ENERGY STAR certification.<\/p>\n

NOTE: No changes have been made to ENERGY STAR certification for industrial plants.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0The information in this e-mail applies only to commercial buildings in the U.S. and Canada. For information or questions about ENERGY STAR certification of industrial plants, please contact\u00a0<\/em>Danny Macri<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(for plants in the U.S.) or\u00a0<\/em>Natural Resources Canada<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(for plants in Canada).<\/em><\/p>\n

Our first priority continues to be the health and safety of all of our stakeholders. The guidance below will allow more of you to apply for ENERGY STAR certification while complying with the recommendations of medical experts for reducing the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

This new guidance is\u00a0in addition<\/em>\u00a0to the changes described in our May 4 e-mail, which are still in effect. These include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You no longer have to submit an application for ENERGY STAR certification within 120 days of the application\u2019s Period Ending Date (PED)<\/li>\n
  2. You must include a detailed description of how your building\u2019s operations have been impacted by COVID-19.<\/li>\n
  3. We can help with time-sensitive needs to receive ENERGY STAR certification.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    New guidance:<\/p>\n

    1. All building should update their use details to reflect changes in operations due to COVID-19:\u00a0We recommend that you update the values for \u201cNumber of Workers on Main Shift\u201d (or “number of full-time equivalent workers” for hospitals)\u00a0and \u201cWeekly Operating Hours\u201d for all time periods and for all buildings in your portfolio (see this\u00a0FAQ<\/a>\u00a0for more details and guidance). These values should reflect changes which occurred as part of the response to COVID-19, and updates should be made using the \u201cUpdate with new information<\/a>\u201d function in Portfolio Manager.<\/p>\n

    2. All buildings may apply 2020 Energy Star certification use through 2020:\u00a0After extensive analysis to assess the impacts of extreme changes in operations on ENERGY STAR scores, we can now accept applications for ENERGY STAR certification with a PED through April 30, 2020, regardless of the changes in operations which may have occurred in the building due to COVID-19. Before submitting an application with a PED of March or April 2020, applicants must have updated \u201cNumber of Workers on Main Shift\u201d (or \u201cNumber of Full-Time Equivalent Workers\u201d for hospitals) and \u201cWeekly Operating Hours\u201d use details as needed to reflect such changes.<\/p>\n

    3.\u00a0 Building with operations that were unaffected by COVID-19 may apply using\u00a0 date which includes May 2020 and later. Everyone else should wait for further guidance.\u00a0If your building has a score of 75 or higher for a PED of May 2020 or later, the decision of whether to apply now or wait for further guidance from EPA depends on how your building operations were impacted by COVID-19.<\/p>\n