You cannot improve what you do not measure — and you cannot understand what you measure without context. Energy benchmarking provides that context: it translates your building's raw energy consumption into a normalized score that allows meaningful comparison to similar buildings, identification of performance gaps, and tracking of improvement over time. In 2026, benchmarking is no longer optional for many commercial building owners: 35 states now have mandatory benchmarking ordinances, and the consequences of non-compliance are growing alongside the financial consequences of lagging peers.
This guide explains the two core benchmarking metrics — Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and ENERGY STAR score — what good and poor performance looks like by building type, and what you can do with your score once you have it.
What Is Energy Use Intensity (EUI)?
Energy Use Intensity is the foundation metric for building energy benchmarking. It expresses how much energy a building consumes per square foot per year, measured in kBtu (thousand British thermal units) per square foot per year. The formula is straightforward: total annual energy use in kBtu divided by gross floor area in square feet.
EUI normalizes for building size, which makes comparison possible. A 50,000 sq ft office building and a 500,000 sq ft office building can't be directly compared on total energy consumption, but they can be compared on EUI. What constitutes a "good" EUI varies significantly by building type, climate zone, and occupancy intensity — a hospital running 24/7 has a much higher baseline EUI than a typical office building with standard operating hours.
| Building Type | Median EUI (kBtu/sqft/yr) | Top 25% EUI | Bottom 25% EUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 69 | < 45 | > 105 |
| Retail | 61 | < 40 | > 95 |
| K-12 School | 55 | < 37 | > 82 |
| Warehouse (unrefrigerated) | 31 | < 18 | > 55 |
| Hotel / Lodging | 142 | < 95 | > 215 |
| Hospital | 350 | < 230 | > 500 |
Understanding ENERGY STAR Scores
The ENERGY STAR score, managed by EPA through its Portfolio Manager platform, translates your building's EUI into a 1–100 percentile score relative to similar buildings nationwide. A score of 50 means your building performs at the median for its type. A score of 75 means you outperform 75% of similar buildings — the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification eligibility. A score of 90 or above represents best-in-class performance.
The score controls for weather (using site-specific weather data), occupancy (hours per week, number of workers), and building characteristics, so it provides a genuinely apples-to-apples comparison even across different climates and operating profiles. This normalization is what makes it more valuable than raw EUI for benchmarking purposes — a building in Phoenix and a building in Seattle with the same raw EUI may have very different ENERGY STAR scores.
Financial impact of benchmarking: ENERGY STAR-certified buildings command 3–5% higher rents and sell at 5–10% premiums in most U.S. commercial real estate markets, according to CoStar data. Certification is also increasingly required for green loan products, certain municipal incentive programs, and LEED documentation. Check your building's current score instantly with our ENERGY STAR Checker tool.
How to Benchmark Your Building
Step-by-Step Benchmarking Process
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1
Gather 12 months of utility bills You need electricity and natural gas consumption data. Most utilities provide this through their online portal in Portfolio Manager-compatible formats.
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2
Create a Portfolio Manager account Free at energystar.gov. Enter building characteristics: type, year built, gross floor area, operating hours, and occupancy metrics.
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3
Enter or import utility data Portfolio Manager supports direct data connections with many utilities for automated monthly data import, eliminating manual entry.
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4
Review your score and EUI Portfolio Manager generates your score immediately after data entry. Compare to the medians in the table above.
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5
Identify the gap and build an action plan Each 10-point score improvement corresponds to roughly 10–15% energy reduction. Use EnergyStackHub's Benchmarks tool to identify the highest-impact measures for your score range.
Mandatory Benchmarking: Compliance Requirements
As of 2026, 35 states and Washington D.C. have enacted building energy benchmarking and transparency ordinances. Most apply to commercial buildings above a size threshold — commonly 10,000–50,000 square feet depending on the jurisdiction. The typical requirement is to benchmark annually in Portfolio Manager and submit the data to the relevant city or state agency by a specified deadline.
Non-compliance consequences range from public disclosure of violation status (which affects property valuation) to fines of $100–$3,000 per day of non-compliance in stricter jurisdictions like New York City and Los Angeles. Several states, including California and Washington, have added performance standards on top of disclosure requirements — buildings that score below a threshold by a specified year must retrofit or pay penalties.
Improving Your Score: Where to Start
A building scoring below 50 has significant improvement potential. Based on EPA research, the most common contributors to poor ENERGY STAR scores are HVAC systems running outside occupied hours, outdated lighting systems, and poor building envelope performance. Addressing these three areas moves most buildings from below-average to above-average performance.
Buildings between 50 and 74 typically need to address more targeted inefficiencies — scheduling optimization, controls improvements, and equipment tune-ups — to cross the 75 certification threshold. Our free AI audit tool analyzes your building's specific profile and recommends the most efficient path to score improvement, with projected ENERGY STAR score impacts for each measure.
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Use our free Benchmarks tool to compare your building's EUI and ENERGY STAR score against peer buildings in your sector, climate zone, and city.
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