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EPA Announces Energy Efficiency Program for New England Building Owners

Release Date: 04/15/2002
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1014

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office today announced an initiative to evaluate and improve the energy efficiency in hundreds of commercial and public buildings across the region over the next year.

EPA announced the initiative at a news conference in Burlington, VT, where the city today launched a campaign to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent over the next eight years. EPA has evaluated the energy performance of a half-dozen public buildings in Burlington as part of that effort, including one top-performing building – the U.S. Post Office and Custom House in St. Albans – that was honored today with an Energy Star label.

"Reducing our energy use has a host of benefits, including less smog, haze and mercury pollution from power plants, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, reduced reliance on imported oil and lower operating costs," said Ira Leighton, deputy regional administrator for EPA's New England Office. "That's why we're encouraging building mangers in New England to evaluate their energy performance and identify areas where they can make improvements. Our goal is to see 300 additional buildings in New England benchmarked for their energy performance over the next year."

Under the program, building owners and managers can use free, web-based tools to measure their building's performance relative to comparable buildings, get information on efficiency improvements, and track their progress. Top performers are eligible for recognition with EPA's Energy Star label for their building. The hundreds of New England businesses and organizations participating in the Energy Star program have already saved $1.9 billion on their heating and electric bills through efficiency improvements.

The Portfolio Manager is EPA's on-line tool that allows building managers to quickly and easily track their energy use. It also provides a 1-to-100 rating of energy use (compared to similar buildings) for office buildings, grocery stores, hotels, K-12 schools, and hospitals, with more categories expected to be added soon. Buildings scoring above 75 are eligible for the Energy Star label if they meet industry standards for comfort and indoor air quality and have their performance verified to EPA. The Portfolio Manager tool is available at http://www.energystar.gov

Homeowners also have tools available on-line. They can compare their home's energy efficiency to comparable houses, get information on energy-saving home improvements and find out about Energy Star labeled products. By choosing Energy Star, consumers can save an average of $400 per year on energy bills. The homeowners' tools and other consumer information are on-line at http://www.energystar.gov/consumer.shtml. Information on Energy Star's efficient cooling program is at http://www.energystar.gov/coolchange/consumers.

This energy efficiency for buildings campaign is part of a larger comprehensive strategy by EPA to reduce pollution impacts from power generation, which also includes the President's Clear Skies proposal to reduce emissions from power plants and the Green Power Partnership, which recognizes organizations which purchase ‘green' power generated from renewable sources. For more information see, https://www.epa.gov/clearskies.

EPA's Energy Star program encourages energy-efficiency by awarding the Energy Star label to efficient consumer products (such as computers and washing machines), new homes, and commercial buildings, and by offering information tools for homeowners and commercial properties to improve energy efficiency. In addition to saving $1.9 billion on their energy bills, the hundreds of New England businesses and public entities participating in Energy Star have reduced air pollution by the equivalent to 42.2 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 77.8 million pounds nitrogen oxides, and 166.5 million pounds of sulfur dioxide. For more information on Energy Star, visit http://www.energystar.gov or call 1-888-STAR-YES