Hello everyone,
I’m looking for a reliable website or resource that provides standard or benchmark Energy Use Intensity (EUI) values categorized by climate zones and building typologies (e.g., office, retail, residential, etc.). This would be helpful for early-stage modeling and comparative analysis in LEED projects.
If there are any USGBC-recommended or commonly accepted sources that align with LEED requirements or ASHRAE standards, I’d appreciate your guidance.
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5931 thumbs up
April 11, 2025 - 3:07 pm
In the US we have the CBECS data from the US Department of Energy. You can find the raw data here - https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/
This data can be accessed through the US EPA's Target Finder tool - https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/pm/targetFinder?execution=e2s1
The data only applies to US projects.
Anurag Ghosh
Assistant Sustainability ManagerL&T Construction
1 thumbs up
April 14, 2025 - 1:50 am
Thank you for sharing the CBECS and Target Finder resources — they’re definitely helpful for U.S.-based projects.
Would anyone happen to know of any similar international resources that provide standard or benchmark EUI values by climate zone and building typology, specifically for regions outside the U.S.? I’m particularly interested in datasets or tools that are applicable to projects in India or the Middle East, or any globally recognized databases.
Any leads or references would be greatly appreciated!
Jamy Bacchus
Associate PrincipalME Engineers
29 thumbs up
April 14, 2025 - 2:36 am
I'm anxious to hear if anyone has int'l resources to share.
I would also piggyback on Marcus' comment on CBECS microdata. If you happen to go into the microdata there might not be any projects of the type or climate zone of interest. ASHRAE Std 100-2024 started with CBECS and used PNNL prototype models to fill in the data. There are quirks and CBECS has many quirks--I have an Arc Skoru blog on it. But ASHRAE Std 100 does cover the majority of climate zones on the planet so you can use it globally with the caveats that they were US statistical data and energy models. They do have an odd fixed % of nat gas based on climate zone across all buildings in that climate zone. You should able to access the read only version for free.
Keep in mind the stuff I mention in my blog post is still true with ASHRAE Std 100, CBECS, EnergyStar, California's CEUS and any dataset derived from these: they commingle many public assembly building types so stadiums, museums, bowling alleys, performing art venues and such get lumped together. It's why the AIA Zero Tool is just as awful at benchmarking the above building types--it references the same commingled data albeit CBECS 2003.
Anurag Ghosh
Assistant Sustainability ManagerL&T Construction
1 thumbs up
April 14, 2025 - 3:39 am
Hi Jamy,
Thank you for your detailed response.
You mentioned having a blog post on Arc Skoru about the quirks in CBECS data. Could you please share a link to this blog post or summarize the key points discussed in it?
You pointed out that many datasets commingle different types of public assembly buildings, making benchmarking difficult. Are there any resources or tools that provide more granular data for specific building types?
Jamy Bacchus
Associate PrincipalME Engineers
29 thumbs up
April 14, 2025 - 12:45 pm
Under the new leadership, I can't post URL links without this post taking 1-2 months to get uploaded. So just google my name and Arc Skoru and you'll find it.
There are some subsets out there. I2SL has an online tool for labs. Some sports leagues track their venues' data but that's not public. Some industry associations also survey members for their data. One of the best but quite piecemeal windows into how buildings are actually using energy are from building performance standards (BPS) and benchmarking ordinances in the US. The data is often self-reported and the floor areas can be off by 10% to 100%, utility meters missing such as no nat gas reported even though we know they use these fuels.
So no, there's not nearly enough data to use to benchmark many building types. If you are analyzing a building which falls into a type eligible for an EnergyStar Score (there are about 24 types in the US and slightly less in Canada), then EnergyStar's Target Finder will give you inputs to adjust your project's EUI based on normalization questions such as number of employees, hours of operation, etc. When it comes to the other 30-some building types ineligible for an EnergyStar Score, then that's a huge red flag that we don't know enough about these building types to assign them a score designating them as being in the top 25th percentile for their type and climate zone. We won't move forward until we get better data. BPS ordinances across the US haven't held back declaring EUI or GHG targets for buildings we know virtually nothing about. It's a mess. So while the US might have a good handle on a large portion of the new and existing building stock, it has shown no interest in understanding all these other building types which might only have one or two in a metro region--if any.