Energy Benchmarking in Illinois
Energy benchmarking is the first step to identifying opportunities to reduce energy use and save on utility bills. Benchmarking and transparency policies require buildings to track and share their building performance data on an annual basis.
Currently, there are three municipalities that have adopted building benchmarking policies in Illinois.
- City of Chicago: Visit the City of Chicago website for additional details and compliance requirements for the City of Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance
- City of Evanston: Visit the City of Evanston website for additional details and compliance requirements for the City of Evanston Energy & Water Use Benchmarking Ordinance.
- Village of Oak Park: Visit Oak Park's benchmarking help desk to learn more about the ordinance requirements and compliance resources. Village of Oak Park Energy & Water Benchmarking Ordinance.
Find an Energy Benchmarking Service Provider
Illinois Green Alliance maintains an online directory of companies that offer fee-for-service support for energy benchmarking, data verification, and other efficiency efforts. Illinois Green created this directory to help interested buildings find firms that provide benchmarking-related services. As a reminder, the Chicago and Evanston benchmarking ordinances do not require covered buildings to hire outside support.
Additional Energy Benchmarking Resources
Using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager:
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a FREE benchmarking tool created and managed by the U.S.EPA to help building owners and managers track building energy, water, waste and green house gas emissions (GHG) at their property over time.
Learn more about setting up and managing a building profile by visiting ENERGY STAR’s training resources and videos.
Learn more about building performance policies and resources on the Institute for Market Transformation’s (IMT) Building Performance Policy Center website.