Cleveland, OH: Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Cleveland's currently reported portfolio consists of 126 facilities and over 5 million square feet. Cleveland's portfolio of 115 facilities that passed checks shows a 13% improvement over it's 2010 baseline, demonstrating progress towards the goal of 20% improvement by 2022. While energy efficiency has played an important role, significantly lower occupancy at a few facilities compared to 2010 has also contributed to this change. Such facilities have been used either only for storage or where closed temporarily for maintenance.

Looking at the percent improvement in energy performance across all properties can provide insight into how an organization is saving energy. Cleveland has achieved energy performance improvement of 6% or more at 39 of its reported facilities compared to baseline, with 24 facilities reporting over 15% improvement. Of the 10 properties with EUI improvement over 40%, 5 have seen a reduction in use/occupancy or were down for maintenance for part of 2019.

Property-level energy performance metrics, including EUI and percent improvement to date, are critical to track progress over time and identify opportunities for additional energy savings. Cleveland's portfolio consists of facilities with a wide range of baseline EUI values, most of which are from 0 to 400 kBtu/sq. ft. The majority of facilities have shown improvements since 2010. Facilities located near or below the 0% axis, especially present good opportunities for further savings. While Cleveland has been making effective use of its enterprise energy data management system, and has implemented energy efficiency measures through capital improvements and separate energy conversation projects, a more targeted facility energy management approach with robust funding is required in order to achieve performance goals.