UCF To Rank Buildings with ASHRAE Building EQ Program
November 29, 2018ASHRAE Building EQ is a program designed to comprehensively assess and rate existing buildings’ efficiency compared to similar buildings with the same climate to identify avenues of improving building energy performance. UCF has began to utilize this program in four existing buildings: Millican Hall, CREOL, Ara Drive Research Facility, and Physical Sciences.
By participating in this program, UCF will be able to detail how a building use energy and effectively compare its buildings to others of similar size, use, and in similar climate. ASHRAE Building EQ uses two separate evaluations, one for As Designed potential (asset rating) and the other for In Operation performance (operational rating), to provide a comprehensive view of a building’s current and potential performance.
Other benefits of ASHRAE Building EQ includes:
• Streamlines and improves the audit process
• Utilizes standard and consistent process for tracking improvement over time
• Provides a Building EQ performance score (efficiency) to benchmark building
• Compares building’s performance score to other similar buildings
• Details actionable recommendations to improve a building’s performance
• Provides documentation of the assessment and the results
• Creates an opportunity to reassess building performance following implementation of energy efficiency improvements to assess effectiveness (improved performance/rating)
• Offers a building label to recognize high building performance
Bringing this program to UCF is another step towards more efficient buildings and ultimately reaching carbon neutrality. Nate Boyd (UCF) & Robert Knoedler (Hanson Professional Services Inc.) shared the success of this program first-hand in the College and Planning Management article, The Value of Benchmarking.
