ENERGY STAR TARGET FINDER
Deliverable: Memo to executive team, no more than 800 words, plus appendix for financial analysis
BACKGROUND
Your firm plans to develop a 140 ksf office building with 110 ksf of surface parking on a site in Pittsburgh. Due to expansion of federal programs already in that area, your brokers have told you there is a high prospect of arranging a single lease for the building to a government tenant. Per published requirements of the General Services Administration, you know that federal agencies give preference to properties that achieve an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher.
Your architects and engineers have completed a proposed design of the property, including specifications for the building envelope’s thermal characteristics, and the size and capacities of heat and cooling system and its components. Based on the proposed design and standard GSA occupancy characteristics, an energy simulation has shown that the building is likely to consume, once operational, 2,800,313 kWh per year.
ASSIGNMENT
Your executive team has asked you to conduct an analysis and write a memo reporting if the building’s energy use might meet the GSA energy efficiency requirements. Your memo should report the estimated ENERGY STAR Score as well as the building’s annual energy costs and rate of greenhouse gas emissions. As you know from your studies, you can generate an estimated, or predicted, ENERGY STAR score through the use of Target Finder. Guidance on this is articulated in steps 1 through 3 of Follow EPA’s step-by-step process.
Task One: If your analysis indicates that the building’s rating will not be 75, your memo should indicate the differences in the predicted performance in terms of kWh, CO2 emissions, and operating costs. Further, assume that your firm plans on leasing the building to the GSA using a full service gross lease. Using a market capitalization rate of 6.5%, discuss the impact the difference in energy consumption will have on your asset’s value. All calculations should be reported on a per square foot and whole building basis.
To complete the analysis, apply the assumptions of operating and occupancy characteristics listed in Table 1, below, and refer to the additional resources as necessary.
Occupancy hours per week 65 Area cooled 100%
Square feet per occupant 400 Area heated 100%
Square feet per computer 380 $/kWh Student look up
Table 1: Occupancy and operating characteristics used in the building’s initial energy simulation.
Task Two: your firm recognizes that there is an expanding demand for office developments of similar size and occupancy requirements across the country. Therefore, the exercise completed for Task One may be applicable to future developments. You are asked to generate and report on the projected Energy Star rating and difference in energy operating costs. some of the analysis for the same property a second and third market, assigned as follows:
Student 2nd Assigned Location Student Second Assigned Location
Abdullah Seattle, WA Maidenbaum Portland, ME
AlShalan Beaumont, TX Mayer Portland, OR
Alaati Toronto, ON, CAN Meltsner Helena, MT
Hajjar San Diego, CA Rosemarin Tallahassee, FL
Kaplan Hartford, CT Simon-Curry Casper, WY
Singh Tucson, AZ
Table Two: Second City Assignments
To complete this portion of the assignment, there will be an excel spreadsheet posted to resources in NYU Classes. Students should fill in the appropriate information from their analyses in the appropriate columns by the assignment deadline.
Additional resources:
• US EPA ENERGY STAR Target Finder
o https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-resources/how-use-target-finder
o www.energystar.gov/targetfinder
• Retail electricity rates by state, US Department of Energy
o https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a
• Zip code look-up
o https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action
• US EPA Power Profiler (This site is not required for completion of the assignment. It contains information that is embedded in the tools students are using. This site is included here for background.)
o https://oaspub.epa.gov/powpro/ept_pack.charts
