Energize Denver Program Cuts Building Energy Use By 4.5%

Energize Denver saved $13.5M from 2016 to 2017, and once again saw 90 percent of covered buildings comply with the program.

Denver’s large buildings cut their energy use by 4.5 percent from 2016 to 2017, totaling $13.5 million in energy cost savings, according to the newly released Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) Energize Denver 2018 Annual Report. This is the second year of data collected through the benchmarking program.

Energize Denver
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Energize Denver has a goal to improve the energy efficiency of Denver’s large buildings 10 percent by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030. The Benchmarking Requirement — which went into effect in 2017 after being passed by City Council in 2016, and requires all buildings over 25,000 square feet to annually assess and report on energy performance using the EPA’s free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool — is a significant component of Energize Denver’s work to improve building energy efficiency. The energy used in large buildings is responsible for 57% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“Benchmarking the energy use of large buildings is a cornerstone piece of our climate action plan, and the data collected through Energize Denver is critical to our plan’s success,” said Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “It’s up to cities and states to lead on addressing climate change, and the data indicates our efforts are having the intended effect. Being able to show this much energy savings in such a short time is a good indication that we’re well on our way to achieving our overall climate goals.”

In its second year of benchmarking, Energize Denver once again saw 90 percent of all covered buildings comply; buildings in the 25,000- to 50,000-square-foot range – with 2018 being the first year they were required to report – had a compliance rate of 84 percent, and buildings over 50,000 square feet achieved a compliance rate of 94 percent. The 4.5 percent cut in energy use was measured through the reduction of the Denver buildings’ weather normalized site energy use intensity (EUI) for the 1,161 buildings that submitted complete reports for both 2016 and 2017. The non-weather normalized savings was even higher, at 6 percent.

Improving energy efficiency can be beneficial for the bottom lines of both building owners and occupants, and is integral to helping Denver reach its 80×50 Climate Goal to reduce Denver’s community greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Energize Denver Energy Efficiency Awards

In addition to releasing the 2018 annual report, Energize Denver announced the recipients of the Energize Denver Energy Efficiency Awards, which were presented to the three office buildings, three apartment buildings, and three hotels that improved their energy efficiency the most from 2016 to 2017.

The 2018 winners were:

Offices

  • 1st Place: Tamarac Plaza, 1, 7555 E Hampden Ave., cut energy use by 35 percent.
  • 2nd Place: Havana Gold, 4880 Havana St. ENERGY STAR score jumped from 26 to 43.
  • 3rd Place: Market Center, 1624 Market St. ENERGY STAR score jumped from 78 to 96

Apartments

  • 1st Place: The Lodge, 4710 E. Mississippi Ave., cut energy use by 31 percent.
  • 2nd Place: 1000 South Broadway, 1000 S. Broadway, ENERGY STAR score jumped from 77 to 99.
  • 3rd Place: The Denver House, 1055 Logan St. ENERGY STAR score jumped from 86 to 96.

Hotels

  • 1st Place: Hampton Inn and Suites, 1845 Sherman St. ENERGY STAR score jumped from 52 to 98.
  • 2nd Place: Doubletree by Hilton, 3203 Quebec St. Increased ENERGY STAR score from 67 to 71.
  • 3rd Place: Crown Plaza Denver, 1450 Glenarm Place, cut electric use by 8 percent and natural gas by 13 percent.