How do I benchmark my EV Charging Stations/EV Chargers?

  • Updated

The ENERGY STAR score is intended to provide an assessment of the building, not including any Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging stations. Therefore, if possible, you should exclude your EV Charging stations when benchmarking. 

There are three options: 

  1. If your EV charging stations are on their own meters (not sub-metered), then just leave out those meters altogether to exclude your EV charging energy use from your benchmarking.
  2. If your EV charging stations are on the main meter, but you submeter them, then you should exclude this energy use by entering an additional meter with negative entries equal to the values on the submeter.
    1. More information about how to enter a negative meter 
    2. You may use the physical chargers as the “submeters” if they provide the kWh stats of the energy going into the electric vehicles. However, due to charging losses, the amount of kWh shown on your physical charger may not be 100% of the energy your building is expending to operate these EV chargers. Since the chargers will provide a conservative estimate, using this is an acceptable method for submetering your EV chargers.
  3. If your EV energy is on the main meter and not sub-metered, then you have to include this energy when benchmarking.  As of July 18, 2024, Portfolio Manager will estimate the energy use of your EV chargers and subtract it from your building energy for the calculation of the ENERGY STAR Score. This is how parking and swimming pools are currently handled. Since this adjustment is only for the ENERGY STAR Score, it is only applicable for scorable property types. The adjustment is applied based on the "Start Date" of the EV Charging Stations.
    1. To enter a property use for EV Chargers: 
      1. Go to the Details Tab
      2. Click in the "Add Another Type of Use" box
      3. Select Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
      4. Click "Add"
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    2. Then you will enter the number of EV Chargers that you have at your property:
      • In the "Property Uses and Us Details" section, The number of Level One EV Charging Stations. Level one chargers are smaller charging units that usually come with the vehicle itself, and plug into a standard 120VAC outlet.  Outlets that are specifically dedicated to EV charging may count as a Level One EV charger.
      • The number of Level Two EV Charging Stations. Level two chargers are higher voltage chargers that must be purchased separately from the vehicle, which must be plugged into a 240VAC outlet.  Most public charging stations are level two. If one charging station has multiple plugs that can charge multiple cars simultaneously, then count it as multiple stations.
      • The number of DC Fast EV Charging Stations. Level three chargers are the highest voltage chargers available, and not typically found in most locations given the demand of electrical infrastructure.  These offer the quickest way to charge an electric vehicle, and as opposed to level one and level two chargers which utilize AC (alternating current), DC Fast charging uses DC (direct current). If one charging station has multiple plugs that can charge multiple cars simultaneously, then count it as multiple stations.

Notes:

  1. While the "score adjustment" is only available to scorable properties, all properties can see the estimated energy in theses metrics: 
    • Electric Vehicle Charging Station - Portfolio Manager-Estimated Site Energy (kBtu)
    • Electric Vehicle Charging Station - Portfolio Manager-Estimated Source Energy (kBtu)
  2. In the future, we plan to build a spreadsheet upload so you can add these new use details to multiple properties at once. Currently, you can only add this information one property at a time.
  3. EV Charging Technical Reference

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