Recent changes to Energy Star Portfolio Manager may have impacted your building’s energy performance rating. Energy Star recently added the Data Center space type and made adjustments to the Retail and Office space types. Data centers can now earn an Energy Star Label. Buildings with retail, office and data center space types will notice a change in their Energy Star performance rating, especially large buildings such as highrises.

The purpose of the adjustments is to ensure accurate ratings for very large buildings, and for buildings with extremely high densities of computers and cash registers (which should now be listed in the Data Center space type in Portfolio Manager). Part of the changes in Energy Star include a cap on the office and retail square footage when assigning points based on energy performance. The result is that the Energy Star ratings for virtually all large office buildings without a significant data center are lower than they were prior to the June 7, 2010 adjustments. Project teams that accurately adjust inputs to reflect all data center and computer spaces in the Data Center space type in Portfolio Manager will see better results.

Energy Star Press Release

New research supports the claim that workers are more productive in green buildings. A team from CBRE and the University of San Diego surveyed 154 buildings, either Energy Star labeled or LEED certified, containing over 2,000 tenants. The study shows a decline in sick days and also an increase in worker productivity. The cost to provide healthier environments is modest in relation to the benefits gained. Also an important finding, healthier space need not be new space.

Visit the University of San Diego website to download the full case study.