Chicago Benchmarking: ASHRAE BEAP Credential Recognized

Building owners in Chicago now have more options when it comes to getting their building energy data verified. The city now recognizes the ASHRAE-Certified Building Energy Assessment Professional (BEAP) as a data verifier credential under Chicago’s Energy Benchmarking Ordinance.

In September 2013, the city became the ninth in the United States to require that buildings benchmark energy performance and publicly disclose data. Chicago is the only city that requires data to be verified by a licensed professional. Covered buildings are required to have data verified by professionals on the first and every third year after. That information goes public so building owners can compare their buildings with similar ones.

All buildings over 50,000 square feet, except industrial, are required to comply with the ordinance. Some 3,500 buildings are covered, including multi-family residential. While this is less than 1% of all buildings in Chicago, it represents 20% of the energy consumed annually by buildings.

Professionals holding the Building Energy Assessment Professional certification also qualify to perform In Operations ratings for ASHRAE’s Building Energy Quotient program. This building energy labeling program allows the industry to zero in on opportunities to lower building operating cost and make informed decisions to increase value.