EPA’s Portfolio Manager Slated for Improvements
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Portfolio Manager, the interactive energy management tool operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will receive significant updates at the end of August 2009, which could affect energy performance ratings for various building types.
Updates include a new rating for houses of worship, a revised rating for warehouses, a retail eligibility rule, and several optional features for hotels. Additionally, new fields will be available for documentation of onsite wind- or solar-generated electricity and tracking of renewable energy certificates (RECs). These changes in particular will influence site and source energy values and energy performance ratings, and will assist with accounting for green power and tracking the related decline in greenhouse gas emissions.
Finally, Portfolio Manager will add ‘District Hot Water’ and ‘District Chilled Water – Other’ as possible fuel types, and include two additional units of measure—liters for liquid fuel, and cubic meters for natural gas.
More information about the updates will be posted on August 31, 2009, at www.energystar.gov. Questions regarding these upcoming changes should be directed to buildings@energystar.gov.
Copyright 2009 by BuildingGreen, LLC

