Alpha Customer Earns ENERGY STAR® Certification
McLean County Unit District No. 5’s Kingsley Junior High School has earned “ENERGY STAR® Certification” title and was chosen for dis- play at the Illinois Association of School Board’s Exhibition of Educa- tional Environments. The school achieved tremendous results with the implementation of geothermal heating and cooling in the 1965 section and upgrading the controls in the 2002 section, using a new “hybrid” system.
What is ENERGY STAR® Certification for Buildings?
ENERGY STAR certified buildings save energy, money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. To be certified as ENERGY STAR, a building must meet strict energy performance standards set by EPA.
To be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher on EPA’s 1 – 100 scale, indicating that it performs better than at least 75% of similar buildings nationwide. This 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR score is based on the measured energy use of a building and is calculated within EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The score accounts for differences in operating conditions, re- gional weather data, and other important considerations.
ENERGY STAR® Benchmarking
Alpha Controls & Services’ Energy Solutions team has helped benchmark numerous properties since it began in 2006. Leveraging this experience, we provide our customers a complimentary, “white glove” service to compare their energy use against industry standards in five easy steps:
- Gather 24-months of utility bills and answer a brief questionnaire about your building.
- Review fire escape and other floor plans to determine total square feet.
- Carefully analyze each utility bill to determine supply and delivery costs for both gas and electric utilities.
- Create a property in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and download Energy Star’s Progress and Goals Report.
- Format results into a final report for review and determination of next steps.
ENERGY STAR® Certification
Every year for the past three years, at least one Alpha customer has received ENERGY STAR certification for a building. After successful comple- tion of an Energy Solutions project with Alpha Controls, a customer’s building may qualify for certification. With the assistance of a third-party engi- neer or architect, Alpha can help the customer apply at no charge by Alpha or ENERGY STAR.
This certification is valuable to the customer in the following ways:
AS A TOP-PERFORMING BUILDING:
- Lower utility bills
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- “Future proofing” against potential performance mandates
AS AN ENERGY STAR-LABELED BUILDING:
- Higher building valuation
- Fewer vacancies and higher rents
- Required for federal tenants
- Improved loan terms and lower interest rates
- Attraction of Gen Z talent through helping environmental and social issues
