The US Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has created a data collection and management tool – called BuildingSync – to help municipalities and building owners plan energy efficiency and decarbonization investments and more efficiently meet compliance requirements. It is expected that BuildingSync will help cities make progress toward benchmarking goals, auditing compliance, evaluating program performance, and analyzing trends.
“BuildingSync helps owners make smart renovation investments,” Lauren Adams, data science researcher in NREL’s Building Technologies and Science Center, said. “It allows data to be more easily aggregated, compared, and exchanged between different databases and software tools—streamlining the energy audit process.”
Building data management requires a range of information, such as: HVAC systems; windows; architecture; insulation; and regional climate. BuildingSync uses a standardized language to facilitate the aggregation, comparison, and exchange of energy data between vendors.
BuildingSync has been incorporated by buildee, a software platform used by utilities, municipalities, property owners, and energy services providers to rapidly identify and prioritize energy and carbon-reduction opportunities in commercial buildings. New York City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services and Department of Energy Management contributed to the incorporation of BuildingSync capabilities within buildee.
“New York City is the first municipality to adopt the BuildingSync platform to identify, prioritize, and reduce emissions across its nearly billion-square-feet assortment of buildings,” said Ben Levine, buildee program manager. “With this BuildingSync integration, building owners across the city now can access a centralized energy management platform to track climate action goals, map actions to those goals, and comply with local laws, all while reducing their utility costs and adding value to their buildings.”