Signed: Sustainable Museums Joins #Wearestillin for #ParisAgreement

This means that I need to track and report my carbon using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. I've been mobile for the last four years, just settling into an office and home this January, so I haven't been able to track my energy use. Now that I'm rooted, I have energy use I can record honestly.

The challenge is what to compare it to since 1) I've been moving, and 2) I've been reducing energy use, for a long time. How to benchmark? I'm comparing my use to that on the same property last year when used by the same number of people and without a home office.

Here are the results: See the January 2017 measurement? We moved in January 2nd. So far so good.

In May, I switched metering to Time-of-Use rates where I save money if I use more energy during the day when it's solar-generated than at night when it's oil- or garbage-generated. I'll keep you posted on the results.

As for water - I don't pay those bills. So, like those museums, zoos, and aquariums owned by a city, state, or a university, I'll have to hunt them down to see that use and get it into Portfolio Manager. And I'll have to convince my landlord to stop irrigating...

Now a house can't get an EnergyStar rating this way, so neither can Sustainable Museums. Museums can't yet either, but if enough of you begin using EnergyStar so there are benchmarks, then we can create a category just for informal education buildings!

Boston Building Energy Benchmarking - It's a Go. Is Your Museum Ready?

At the recent Summit on Environmental Sustainability Standards in Museums at the national conference for the American Alliance of Museums we talked about how the outside world will enact standards for us -- and wouldn't it be better to create our own? 

Well in Boston (and Philadelphia, Seattle, DC, Chicago, New York and San Francisco) the law is going to require energy benchmarking for each city's large- and medium-sized business and residential buildings within the next five years. When this comes to your city, will you be ready?

Here are highlights from the City's webposting on the Ordinance, summarized with editorial comments of my own added: (Ordinance is here).

• All large and medium buildings or groups of buildings are required to report annual energy use, ENERGY STAR rating (if applicable), water use, and greenhouse gas emissions through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or an equivalent mechanism as approved by the Air Pollution Control Commission. (The recent Summit with EPA/ENERGY STAR and Portfolio Manager participation gives us a leg up on this, team...let's get cracking on working with ENERGY STAR for a system that makes sense for museums! - SB)
• The requirement will be phased in over 5 years and will ultimately apply to non-residential buildings 35,000 square feet or greater and residential buildings with 35 or more units. (Not sure 5 years is necessary...let's get going! 18 months would do. - SB)
• The City will make energy and water use per square foot, ENERGY STAR ratings, greenhouse gas emissions, and other identifying and contextual information for individual buildings available online. (Glad the institutions don't have to do it individually, but then why not post it on one's own website if you have one? - SB)
• Buildings not demonstrating high energy performance or continual improvements or other appropriate exemption criteria are required to conduct energy assessments or actions every 5 years to identify opportunities for energy efficiency investment. Building owners are not required to act on the audit. (Jeez Louise...why the heck not? - SB)
• Failure to comply with reporting requirements will lead to fines for building owners. (Let's hope the income ends up in the sustainability fund - SB)

Let's hear from a museum already benchmarking and reporting through ENERGY STAR without any LEED certification attached...