ENRG 53: Utility Rates, Benchmarking & Financial Analysis

Program Description:

The Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center has developed a 4-semester program to prepare students to work as commercial building energy auditors. The Commercial Building Energy Analysis & Audits Program is divided into 15 modular courses designed for a community college level student. Courses are intended to prepare students for energy auditing, analyzing a building envelope and building systems for efficiency, employing appropriate tools for energy modeling and working with data, describing utility rate structures and demand response strategies, estimating energy savings and financial impacts, and integrating business development skills and concepts with energy audit reporting.

Content modules can be selected, recombined, or offered in a more compressed format for existing workers, or those that have some background in construction, architecture, HVAC, building operations or mechanical engineering.

Course Description:

This model course from BEST Center focuses on utility rates, benchmarking, and financial analysis. The course asks students to consider utility rate types and charges, benchmarking tools such as EnergyStar Portfolio Manager and LBNL’s Energy IQ, Methods for estimating costs, and calculating the financial benefits of recommended energy efficiency projects. In completing the course, students will be able to: 1) Compare tariff and rate schedules used by utilities to determine customer energy bills, 2) Use multiple tools to analyze billing data for commercial buildings, 3) Assess the impact of building type, climate and occupancy patterns and tenant use on commercial building energy use, 4) Use benchmarking tools to compare the Energy Use Intensity of buildings of similar type and climate, and illustrate typical energy use patterns of specific facility types, and 5) Determine the cost of various energy efficiency measures, and calculate the value of them using various metrics.

The completion of the lesson in full takes 36 lecture hours (including 9 lab hours). Resources available as part of this course include a course outline, 3 PowerPoint presentations, 2 benchmarking reference documents, and a resource list.  

For orientation purposes, viewers should begin with the ENRG 53_Course Outline.pdf, which offers a description of the course as well as an overview of topics covered through a course outline.

Course Contents:

The 5-page course outline document includes a course description, learning outcomes, and a detailed course topics outline. Topics include: 1) Utility rate structures, 2) Building energy consumption benchmarking, 3) Energy and economics, and 4) Cost estimation. Sections detailing the types of in-class and out-of-class assignments required and other textbooks and resources are also included.

The “Understanding Utility Rates” PowerPoint presentation covers rates and tariffs for energy utilities, Time-Varying Pricing, PG&E electric and natural gas schedules, and other utilities in California.

The benchmarking presentation covers the goal of benchmarking, the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, other benchmarking tools, and benchmarking projects.

The presentation on financial analysis offers an introduction to economics and cost, basic project evaluation, Additional elements of project and asset evaluation, as well as Risk, capital and decision making with other factors.

Two benchmarking reference documents are provided, “Benchmarking: What’s your building’s energy IQ,” from the U.S. Department of Energy, and a “Benchmarking Tools Matrix.”

A resource list is also provided for the course. This offers resources on rates/tariffs, electric schedules, and gas schedules.

Below is a list of the files contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each file is included in parenthesis.

ENRG 53 - Utility Rates, Benchmarking & Financial Analysis (7 files, 4.6MB)

• Utility Rates, Benchmarking & Financial Analysis Course Outline (ENRG 53_Course Outline.docx 27KB)
• Understanding Utility Rates (1_Understanding Utility Rates.ppt 2MB)
• Benchmarking (2_Benchmarking.ppt 312KB)
• Financial Analysis (3_Financial Analysis.ppt 463KB)
• Benchmarking: What’s your building’s energy IQ (Benchmarking - LBNL.pdf 3.4MB)
• Benchmarking Tools Matrix (Benchmarking Tools Matrix.pdf 72KB)
• Resource List (Resource List.docx 16KB)