Frequently Asked Questions

What is energy benchmarking?

In order to manage your energy consumption, you must first understand it. Energy benchmarking is the ongoing review of your building’s energy consumption, which provides the data to encourage building operators to strive for continuous improvement and reductions in the use of energy. By engaging in ongoing energy benchmarking, you can:

Identify poorly performing buildings
Establish a baseline for measuring improvement in energy consumption
Enhance and create competition through comparison with similar buildings
Earn a rating or gain recognition for having a high-performance building
Make a business case for efficiency investments
Track how current projects are expected to save energy, money, etc.
See how a certain building compares to a portfolio or peer group.
Assess a building’s performance before you buy/lease it
Present building performance to a potential buyer or lender
Set targets for improved performance
Facilitate assessment of property value and marketing rental properties

The ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool helps you measure and track the energy and water use of your buildings, all in a secure online environment. You can use the results to compare your building with other similar Canadian buildings, identify under-performing buildings, set investment priorities, verify efficiency improvements, and receive recognition for being a high-performance building. Visit ENERGY STAR® to get started with energy benchmarking.

Check out our ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager FAQ for more information.

Learn more with the Natural Resources Canada Energy Benchmarking Primer.

What are the benefits of energy efficient buildings?

Canada’s commercial building sector is a significant energy user and producer of carbon emissions. It includes a range of building types, including offices, hospitals, schools, and more. Buildings retrofitted to higher energy-efficiency standards provide multiple benefits to those who own and occupy them, including:

Long-term energy and cost savings: an energy efficient building will have the advantage of lower energy, water, and maintenance costs.
Lower emissions and overall environmental impact: energy efficient buildings have lower greenhouse gas emissions due to their reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Buildings that use primarily clean energy such as hydroelectricity have the lowest emissions.
Better thermal comfort: well-designed mechanical systems and building components work together to manage comfortable indoor temperatures.
Improved comfort and health: continuous ventilation and fresh air throughout the building can lead to better well-being with occupants and as a result, a more productive workforce.
Higher Value: businesses and consumers see the value in energy efficient buildings, and as a result there is a premium associated with buying or leasing space in well-built, energy efficient buildings.

Check out our resources for commercial buildings for more information.

See FortisBC’s Energy-Saving Tips for Business.

Resources for Commercial Buildings

Find selected resources for benchmarking, case studies, and best practices below. These resources are intended mostly for building managers and other decision-making stakeholders to aid in the development of business cases and first steps towards renovations.

General Resources – Commercial Renovations and New Commercial Construction

ENERGY STAR® certification for Commercial and Institutional Buildings in Canada – A guide from Natural Resources Canada to becoming ENERGY STAR certified for K-12 schools, commercial offices, hospitals, supermarkets and food stores, medical offices, senior care communities and residential care facilities, and ice/curling rinks.
Energy Management Best Practices Guide for Commercial and Institutional Buildings – Advice and guidance from Natural Resources Canada to improve energy efficiency to produce a more sustainable building with an extended life cycle, benefit your organization’s bottom line, and provide a road map to achieving efficiency goals.
Energy Management Best Practices Summary – A best practices poster and link hub to Natural Resources Canada’s Building Efficiency resources.
Improve Your Building Energy Performance: Energy Benchmarking Primer – An informative resource from Natural Resources Canada describing what benchmarking is, the business case for benchmarking, case studies, and resources for getting started.
8 Energy Benchmarking Hurdles (and How to Get Over them) – A Buildings article discussing common issues, and solutions, to benchmarking a commercial building.

General Resources – New Commercial Construction

Energy Efficiency in New Buildings – A collection of resources and best practices from Natural Resources Canada for maximizing energy efficiency, including guidance on Benchmarking.

Reports – Commercial Renovations and New Commercial Construction

Geared for Change: Energy Efficiency in Canada’s Commercial Building Sector – A report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and Sustainable Development Technology Canada focusing on a sectoral approach addressing technology adoption barrier and the feasibility of applying and achieving specific emission reduction targets.
Building Momentum: 2018 BOMA BEST National Green Building Report – A report by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada summarizing energy efficiency trends, certifications, and successes across Canada.
Improving Energy Efficiency in Alberta’s Buildings – A report by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and the Pembina Institute analyzing building energy consumption in both residential and commercial sectors with a list of best practices for decision makers and a power map illustrating how various stakeholders interact.
Energy Benchmarking, Reporting & Disclosure in Canada: A Guide to a Common Framework – A report by Canada Green Building Council assessing the principles, administration and delivery requirements, and data management for benchmarking in Canada.
Green Building in Canada: Assessing the Market Impacts & Opportunities – An analysis by Canada Green Building Council of the current activities in Canada’s green building sector, size and scope of the green building sector with the intent to support accelerated market transformation to high-performing, healthy green buildings.
Green Commercial Real Estate: Office Assets – A report by the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business analyzing best practices for Commercial Real Estate, including case studies, market analysis, and recommendations.

Reports – New Commercial Construction

Healthier Buildings in Canada 2016 : Transforming Building Design and Construction – A report from the Canada Green Building Council analyzing the factors influencing Canadian building owners, architects, interior designers, contractors and public health professionals in their decisions for adopting healthier, greener, building practices and features.

Case Studies & Reviews

Case Study: Vancouver City Hall – Commercial retrofit of Vancouver City Hall, summarizing the processes, challenges, and successes of a retrofit designed to be part of a broader 100% renewable energy and zero emissions strategy.
Case Study: Vancouver Park Place – Commercial retrofit of Vancouver’s Park Place, summarizing the processes, challenges, and successes in retrofitting British Columbia’s largest leasable office space.
A Grander View of the Future: A Case Study of Enermodal Engineering’s New Building – A summary Enermodal Engineering’s headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario built to be carbon neutral and Platinum LEED certified in 2014.
Albion District Library – Project summary of this American Institute of Architect’s 2018 COTE Top Ten recipient, located in Toronto, Ontario.

What incentives are available?

There are many incentive programs available for improving the energy efficiency of commercial, institutional, and multi-unit residential buildings in BC, and each program is different. Visit our incentive search tool to find the right program(s) for you.

Take the time to read thoroughly about the incentives you’re interested in. Find out which incentives you are eligible for based on:

The building’s location
Your utility provider
Your fuel consumption rate
Whether you need an Energy Assessment or Benchmarking Study before starting
What kinds of documentation are needed
What the incentive deadlines are

If you have any questions, you can also contact us.

Did you see a building science or energy efficiency term you did not understand? Check out our glossary.

Energy Efficient Buildings

Resources

General Incentives and Upgrades