2016 ENERGYBENCHMARKING
REPORT
Benchmarking in Philadelphia
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
In Philadelphia, buildings are responsible for 60 percent
of carbon emissions emitted. Improving building energy
performance of Philadelphia’s building stock is important
to fulfilling Philadelphia’s commitment to addressing
climate change and meeting the 80 percent reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 goal set by Mayor Jim
Kenney.
To meet this commitment, Philadelphia requires buildings
over 50,000 square feet to report and disclose their energy
and water usage annually. This report covers the third
year of benchmarking, completed in 2015.
Benchmarking can help building owners, operators, and
tenants identify opportunities to reduce energy costs. If
each benchmarked building reduced 2014 electric and
natural gas usage by ten percent, the total cost savings
would be an estimated $52.4 million.ii
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Carbon Emissions of Philadelphia’s Benchmarked Buildings
20.9MILLION Mt CO2e
Citywide Carbon Emissions in 2012i
12.6MILLION Mt CO2e
Carbon Emissions from All Buildings in Philadelphia 2012
2.9MILLION Mt CO2e
Carbon Emissions from Buildings benchmarked in 2014
2014 Benchmarking Highlights
During the 2015 reporting period (covering 2014 data), more than 90 percent of required buildings benchmarked,
providing information on more than one quarter of Philadelphia’s built environment.
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
The median ENERGY STAR Score fell from 64 to 59, but is still nine points higher than the national median, demonstrating
a significant opportunity for energy efficiency improvements in commercial buildings citywide. Property owners and
managers can use benchmarking data to measure their buildings against their peers and identify opportunities for building
performance retrofits.
Represents 25%of TOTAL Citywide square footage
1921 BUILDINGS
Reported
280 MILLIONSquare feet
59MEDIAN ENERGY STAR Score
20152014
20
40
60
80
100
91%COMPLIANCE
Rate2013
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2014 Benchmarking Results
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
• Nearly 2,000 buildings encompassing more than 280 million square feet of floor area (roughly 25 percent of all
developed space in Philadelphia) reported as part of the third year of the program. For the second straight year,
more than 90 percent of buildings required to report submitted data.iii
• Philadelphia buildings earning an ENERGY STAR score (a 1 to 100 measurement of energy efficiency) received a
median of 59 in 2014, nine points higher than the national median of 50. This is down from a score of 63 in 2013,
demonstrating the need for energy efficiency investment in many of Philadelphia’s largest buildings.
• Raw energy usage increased in 2014, but when normalized for weather, building performance improved between
2013 and 2014.
• There was a seven percent reduction in carbon emissions from large buildings. Office buildings, hospitals, and
higher education account for more than half of total carbon emissions from benchmarked buildings in 2014.
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CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
Consistent with prior years’ data, office buildings
continue to cover more than 25 percent of property
floor area and emit more carbon emissions than
any other sector. However, weather-normalized
site energy use intensity (WN Site EUI) is lower
than several other building types, including
schools, colleges, and hospitals.
Those three sectors combined account for nearly
half of carbon emissions among benchmarked
buildings in 2014.
2014 Building Energy Performance byBuilding Sector
All BuildingsMedian WN EUI
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The Office of Sustainability is committed to working with these institutional partners to
identify opportunities for greenhouse gas reduction strategies while continuing to promote
the education and health sectors as areas for growth throughout Philadelphia.
The School District of Philadelphia will release its first-ever sustainability plan, GreenFutures, in May 2016.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
- 10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000 80,000,000 90,000,000
Schools K-12
12% of Floor Area
7% of Carbon Emissions
Hospital
10% of Floor Area
17% of Carbon Emissions
College/ University
12% of Floor Area
15% of Carbon Emissions
2014 Median WN Site EUI and Carbon Emissions by Property Floor Area 250
200
150
100
50
010 20 30 40 50 60 70
Wea
ther
- N
orm
aliz
ed S
ite
EU
I (kB
tu/f
t2 )
Floor Area (millions square feet)
Carbon Emissions (MtCO2e)
156,000 200,000 490,000
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
2014 Building Energy PerformanceBy Sector
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Number of Properties Reported
Total Floor Area (square feet)
Median WN Site EUI (kBtu/ft2)
Median ENERGY STAR Score
Total Water Use (kgal)
Carbon Emissions (MtCO2e)
School (K-12) 259 31,170,072 75.2 44 868,000 195,375
Office 208 69,544,539 76.0 73 957,375 653,532
Warehouse 160 25,738,555 19.3 81 79,790 76,591
College/ University 91 30,868,344 119.1 N/A 1,137,818 441,869
Other 55 7,716,693 54.4 N/A 81,130 56,422
Retail 54 8,472,718 71.9 74 108,857 92,357
Municipal 47 20,527,598 121.1 74 1,858,835 288,377
Hotel 41 11,150,482 93.7 41 397,626 109,332
Multifamily 40 5,384,078 97.4 32 219,481 46,126
Industrial 37 5,383,699 53.7 N/A 131,191 156,115
Hospital 33 24,708,964 198.8 54 1,667,334 487,239
Parking 31 6,725,034 15.3 N/A 29,301 16,904
Supermarket 29 2,184,858 227.9 60 54,564 46,977
Worship 19 1,658,832 36.6 95 9,864 21,870
Medical Office 15 2,405,192 129.0 23 60,434 33,689
Museum 9 1,308,148 82.1 N/A 4,840 12,644
Large Building Energy Use Trends
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
The average weather-normalized site energy use
intensity (WN Site EUI) of buildings benchmarking
from 2012 to 2014 remained relatively unchanged
despite an increase in total energy consumption.
See pages 8 and 9 for further discussion about
energy usage trends.
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Average WN Site EUI for Benchmarked Buildings 2012-2014
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
1 2 3
Average WN Site EUI
Average WN Site EUIW
eath
er-N
orm
aliz
ed S
ite
EU
I (kB
tu/f
t2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
201420132012
101.2kBtu/ft2
103.0kBtu/ft2
100.8kBtu/ft2
Carbon emissions decreased slightly between
2013 and 2014 even with the increase of energy
usage. This downward trend suggests that
benchmarked buildings are using lower-carbon
energy fuel sources like natural gas and steam.
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.5
2.6
21.0
21.5
22.0
22.5
23.0
23.5
24.0
24.5
25.0
2012 2013 2014
Mill
ions
Billi
ons
Total Energy Use and Carbon emissions
Total Energy GHG Emissions
2012 2013 2014
Ene
rgy
Usa
ge
(bill
ions
kB
tus)
Carb
on E
missio
ns (millio
ns MtC
O2e)
24.5
25.0
23.5
24.0
22.5
23.0
21.5
22.0
21.0
2.50
2.55
2.40
2.45
2.30
2.35
2.25
Total Energy Usage Vs. Carbon Emissions Over Time for Benchmarked Buildings
Carbon Emissions Total Energy Usage
Weather and Energy Use Trends
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
Energy usage in large non-residential buildings increased between 2012 and 2014, matching citywide energy trends
that the Office of Sustainability (OOS) has tracked as part of Greenworks reporting. This trend correlates with growth in
population, jobs, and development, as well as more extreme summers and winters.
Buildings reporting benchmarking data have used more natural gas, steam, and fuel oil, corresponding to an increase
in heating degree days (hours requiring heating, generally colder winter days). As Philadelphia continues to face more
extreme weather resulting from climate change, investments made by building owners to improve the efficiency and
resiliency of their facilities’ systems may become even more cost-effective.
-
2,000.0
4,000.0
6,000.0
8,000.0
10,000.0
12,000.0
14,000.0
16,000.0
2012 2013 20142012 2013 2014
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0.
Ene
rgy
Usa
ge
(mill
ions
kB
tus)
Energy Usage by Fuel Type for Benchmarked Buildings 2012-2014
Electricity Natural Gas Steam Fuel Oil #2
Heating and Cooling Degree Days vs Total Energy Use Over Time for Benchmarked Buildings
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
21,000
21,500
22,000
22,500
23,000
23,500
24,000
24,50024,500
24,000
23,500
23,000
22,500
22,000
21,500
21,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
Cooling Degree Days (base 65) Heating Degree Days (base 65) Total Energy Usage of Benchmarked Buildings
Ene
rgy
Usa
ge
(mill
ions
kB
tus)
Num
ber o
f Days
2012 2013 2014
3,746Days
4,473Days
4,749Days
1,604 Days
1,411Days
1,311Days
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Building Energy PerformanceENERGY STAR Trends
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
From 2012 to 2014 the median ENERGY STAR score of
eligible buildings reporting all three years decreased, but
still remains nine points above the national median of 50.
There has been a steady increase of the number of properties
receiving scores, possibly indicating higher quality reporting
by building owners and property managers.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Median ES Score
20
0
40
60
80
100
2012 2013 2014
National Median
Median ENERGY STAR Scores for Benchmarked Buildings 2012-2014
EN
ER
GY
STA
R S
core
The sector-level median ENERGY STAR scores over the
three years indicate that the hotels, medical offices, and
supermarkets are the lowest performing sectors, but also
provide the greatest sector-wide opportunity for improving
energy performance.
Median ENERGY STAR Score by Sector
2012 2013 2014Hospital 70 56 54
Hotel 43 44 46Medical Office 20 37 35
Office 69 70 73Retail 71 73 74
School (K-12) 65 50 46Supermarket 60 59 61Warehouse 83 75 79
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66 60 59
Transforming Data into ActionPhiladelphia’s Energy Reduction Race
In fall 2014 the Office of Sustainability (OOS), in partnership with City Energy Project
and Delaware Valley Green Building Council, launched the Energy Reduction Race, a
voluntary citywide challenge among the largest non-residential buildings to reduce
energy consumption by five percent or more from 2014 to 2015. More than 30 buildings joined the competition,
participated in a free one-day building operator training course, and committed to reducing energy usage by at
least five percent. Participating buildings, including large commercial office buildings, non-profit facilities, and
hotels, saved a total of more than 70 million kBtus and reduced carbon emissions by 11 percent within one year.
15.4%100 North 18th Stiv
Size: 808,040 ft2 Type: Office
12,031,380 kBtus1701 JFK Blvdv
Size: 1,538,959 ft2 Type: Office
Biggest ENERGY STAR Score Improvement
Biggest Percentage Reduction in Energy
Biggest Energy Consumption Reduction
11pts150 Rouse Blvdvi
Size: 58,386 ft2 Type: Office
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT10
Looking Forward
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
In 2015 City Council unanimously voted to require residential large buildings to benchmark and disclose energy usage.
OOS, with assistance from DVGBC and EPA Region III, will hold multifamily-specific benchmarking trainings and provide
phone, email and in-person support to more than 700 large residential buildings submitting benchmarking data for the
first time in 2016. As a result of this change in the benchmarking law, residential property owners and managers will have
new tools to analyze energy and water usage to help them make informed decisions when upgrading their buildings and
increase tenant satisfaction and comfort.
To help building representatives understand their performance relative to their peers, OOS
issued Energy Performance Profiles for every building that benchmarked in 2015. The profiles
include details on energy efficiency programs designed to help large commercial buildings
improve their energy performance. The office also maintains a data visualization tool (available
at http://visualization.phillybuildingbenchmarking.com) to facilitate peer-to-peer comparison
of building performance.
In an effort to make building energy data management and compliance more efficient, OOS
joined the U.S. Department of Energy SEED Platform Collaborative, a partnership with state
and local governments and efficiency program administrators, leading non-profits, and private
sector companies that are committed to reshaping the data landscape in the buildings sector.
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CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT12
Endnotes
i. Citywide and building carbon emissions data from Philadelphia Citywide Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 2012.
ii. Saving estimates are based on self-reported 2014 buildings’ electricity and natural gas usage and utility cost data is
based on US Energy Information Administration estimate regional cost of energy for 2014.
iii. The energy and building data used in this report is self-reported by building owners from 2012, 2013, and 2014. The
trend data includes only buildings benchmarking all three years, from 2012 to 2014.
iv. Photo provided by Brandywine Realty Trust.
v. Photo by R. Bradley Maule.
vi. Photo by Halkin Mason Photography.
Acknowledgments
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2016 ENERGY BENCHMARKING REPORT
Office of Sustainability thanks the following partners for their continued support:
The report was produced by Rich Freeh and Rupal Prasad at the City of Philadelphia Office of Sustainability.
Cover photo provided by Ronald McDonald House.
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