In May of 2020, the City of St. Louis Board of Alderman and Mayor Krewson unanimously passed the City’s first Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS). This standard will require many large buildings in the City to hit specified energy-efficiency targets.
The standard is based on information gathered from the City’s Benchmarking Ordinance that went into effect in 2017. The Benchmarking Ordinance requires buildings over 50,000 square feet to benchmark (report) annual energy consumption via the EPA’s free online tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM). Based on the information entered, ESPM then calculates the Site Energy Usage Intensity (site EUI). The site EUI is how much energy a building uses per square foot each year.
BEPS establishes a minimum energy performance standard – an EUI target – for each building use type. Once the standard is set, building owners will have 4 years (6 years for nonprofits and faith-based organizations) to bring their buildings into compliance. A year after the compliance cycle ends, a new performance standard will be set and the cycle repeats.
Why is this ordinance necessary? According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Buildings in the U.S.A. accounted for 38% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 (reference). According to the City of St. Louis’ 2018 Greenhouse gas inventory, buildings account for 65% of the City’s total greenhouse gas emissions (reference). More than 40% higher than the national average! This means that for the city to reach its goal of 100% reduction of GHG emission by 2050, addressing the energy consumption of buildings is critical.
The first standard went into effect on May 4th, 2021. The City’s website (click here) shows what the standard is by building type. As a building owner or manager, what next steps should you be taking? Based on your building’s current energy performance, you are likely in one of three groups.
1. Already compliant: your building is in the top 35%.
2. Out of compliance: however, the standard seems achievable.
3. Your building is far from the standard: it will take a lot of work to reach the standard, and you should act now – as well as start a conversation with the city about your compliance issues/efforts.
For those in the first camp, it is very easy to feel like you have a free pass and that you do not need to worry about any of this. Well, the reality is that in only five years the standard will be updated. It very probable that your building will need efficiency upgrades to comply in the next cycle. Now is the time to develop an Energy Master Plan (EMP). All building energy using equipment has a life cycle, so, many buildings will need to replace major pieces of equipment over the next five to ten years. These will be the most economical times to reduce energy consumption and ensure that your building will be compliant again in the next cycle. Now is the time to determine how to use this beneficially to improve operating efficiency.
EMPs give your facilities department the tools they need to choose the most efficient and economical equipment at the time of replacement, even if that time is sooner than expected. For example, consider a building that has a 20-year-old cast iron boiler that fails, and it is not feasible to repair it. In this scenario, most building operators would make the quick choice to replace it with a comparable boiler. You now just invested a significant amount of money into a major building system and your building’s EUI has stayed virtually the same. This means that you will have to invest more down the road when you have to comply with the new, more stringent, BEPS standard.
Now, suppose that you had an EMP in place. In this process, you learned that your boiler was oversized – a common issue. And you had new equipment already specified so you knew exactly what needed to be installed. Not only did you reduce your upfront cost because you were able to downsize your system, but you have reduced your energy consumption and operating costs with a more efficient system. Additionally, you avoided the added expense of future compliance issues with new BEPS targets. A win, win, win!
If you are in the second camp, ERG recommends an ASHRAE level II audit, or where applicable, Retro-Commissioning (RCx). These studies look at all aspects of your building systems and identifies energy savings opportunities from the low hanging fruit through planning for replacement of major equipment. For buildings that qualify for RCx, Ameren offers incentives that will pay for a portion of the study. Both Spire and Ameren offer rebates and incentives for longer-term items. Typically, through RCx and ASHRAE level II audits, ERG is able to recommend ways to reduce a client’s energy consumption and bills by 20% – 30% with a 4-year payback. Implementing these solutions will help bring your building into compliance with BEPS and put money in your pocket. Not only that, but the level II audit is the bones of an Energy Master Plan that will help you stay ahead of the curve. Once the study is complete, ERG can identify funding, incentives, and oversee the implementation process and all associated paperwork.
Finally, if you are looking at the BEPS standard and are thinking, “There is no way that we can reduce our energy consumption by that much!” ERG can help. We perform all of the same work described above plus we will work with the City on your behalf to create an alternative compliance pathway. This will ensure that your building is taking all reasonable efforts to meet the standard and will not penalized if it cannot reach the established target.
To learn more about BEPS, who is affected, and what the standards are for your building, visit the City’s BEPS information site or contact us at Info@EnergyResourcesGroup.com or 314-644-0000.
