You have two options to receive an ENERGY STAR score for a property with a parking:
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Sub-meter your parking and exclude its energy and Gross Floor Area (GFA). *This is the recommended option because this will result in the the most accurate assessment of the building.
- Do not enter a Parking Property Use because you should not include the parking GFA
- Do not enter the energy for your parking
- If your parking energy is on your main meter, you will need to subtract the parking energy. See this FAQ for details.
- If your utility is updating your energy bills automatically in Portfolio Manager, be sure to confirm with them that your parking energy is not included.
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Benchmark your parking with your building and include its energy and GFA.
- Include your Parking GFA in a separate "Parking" Property Use. Break out the GFA by each type of parking (Fully Enclosed, Partially Enclosed, and Open).
- Your parking energy (since its not sub-metered) will automatically be included in your metrics.
- Portfolio Manager will estimate the amount of energy your parking uses and subtract that out before calculating your score.
Notes on Parking Garages:
- If your parking garage is physically connected with your building and part of a single structure, then the parking (Fully or Partially Enclosed) cannot be more than 75% of the total Property GFA. For example, a property that is 100,000 square foot, with 80,000 sq ft Parking and 20,000 sq ft Office is considered a Parking Garage by EPA and is not permitted to earn ENERGY STAR certification. This limit does not apply to Open Parking Lots.
- If you are including your Parking energy and GFA, regardless of physical connection, the GFA of your Parking (Fully Enclosed and Partially Enclosed) cannot account be more than 50% of your total Property GFA or you will not be able to get a score.
- Do not include Parking GFA in your Self-reported Property GFA
- If your parking garage is not physically connected to your building, but rather is a separate structure then its considered a separate property and should be benchmarked separately.
Learn more:
- Parking Technical Reference: http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-resources/energy-star-score-parking.