Benchmarking & Energy Star Certification Flashcards
7 cards from real CEA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Benchmarking & Energy Star Certification flashcards as text
A retail strip mall benchmarks at a site EUI of 55 kBtu/sq ft/yr. The national median for retail is 70 kBtu/sq ft/yr. What does this suggest?
Answer: The building is performing better than the national median
A site EUI of 55 vs. a national median of 70 kBtu/sq ft/yr means the building uses roughly 21% less energy per square foot than the median, indicating above-average efficiency.
Which section of ASHRAE Standard 100 directly supports the benchmarking process required in many municipal energy disclosure ordinances?
Answer: Section 5 – Energy Use Classification and Benchmarking
ASHRAE 100 Section 5 establishes energy use classification and benchmarking methodology that aligns with Portfolio Manager and local ordinance requirements.
A university wants to benchmark its entire campus in Portfolio Manager. How should shared metering across multiple buildings be handled?
Answer: Use Portfolio Manager's campus aggregation feature to aggregate meters and allocate energy to individual buildings
Portfolio Manager's campus feature allows a parent campus account with aggregate meters, and individual buildings can be allocated proportional energy shares.
What is the relationship between ENERGY STAR score and greenhouse gas emissions for a typical commercial building?
Answer: Higher ENERGY STAR scores generally correspond to lower GHG emissions per square foot
Because source energy includes the carbon intensity of the grid, higher scores (lower source EUI) generally correlate with lower GHG emissions per square foot.
Under EPA's ENERGY STAR program, what is the 'National Median Source EUI' used for?
Answer: As the 50th percentile baseline from which the 1–100 scoring scale is calibrated
The national median source EUI anchors the 50th percentile of the scoring distribution, against which all benchmarked buildings are ranked.
An energy analyst discovers that a hotel's Portfolio Manager score dropped by 10 points after correctly entering 'number of rooms' for the first time. What most likely explains this?
Answer: More rooms increased the intensity metric denominator, revealing previously hidden inefficiency
Entering accurate room counts provides more use-detail context; if the prior score was inflated by missing inputs, the corrected score reflects true operational intensity.
Which Portfolio Manager feature allows automated monthly utility data uploads without manual entry?
Answer: Web Services API integration with utility providers or energy management software
Portfolio Manager's Web Services API enables automated data exchange between utility billing systems or EMIS platforms and Portfolio Manager accounts.