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Build a Solid Foundation

The first step to build a solid foundation for your energy data management program is to create a central database of your energy-using assets. After establishing a central energy database, optimize it by pursuing opportunities to streamline access to your utility-billing data, which will allow for consistent and timely data review and analysis that can enable you to identify opportunities for energy and cost savings. Once you have streamlined access to your utility billing data, leverage data management tools that can help you collect, track, analyze, and communicate your data.

To build a solid foundation for your energy data management program, follow these three steps.

For steps 1 and 2, see Generate Buy-In.

Step 3. Create a Central Energy Database »

Create a central energy database by locating and collecting sources of asset and utility data; creating a standard organizational structure for the database; reconciling and filling data gaps; and maintaining the integrity of the database.

Step 4. Streamline Access to Utility Data »

Streamline access to your utility data by assessing your current process for collecting utility data, investigating options that can streamline your process, determining the feasibility of implementing those options, implementing the selected solution, and making improvements to further streamline your process over time.

Case Studies

K-12 School Spotlight: Portland Public Schools, Oregon: Leveraging a Third-Party Service Provider to Streamline Utility Data Entry and Processing

Local Government Spotlight: Cleveland, Ohio: Leveraging Resources Across City Departments to Establish a Streamlined Data Access Solution

Spotlight: District of Columbia: An Early Adopter of Green Button and Interval Data

Local Government Spotlight: Knoxville, Tennessee: Collaboration with Municipal Utility to Streamline Access to Energy- and Water-Use Data

Local Government Spotlight: Virginia Beach, Virginia: Automating Utility Bill Invoicing to Improve Energy Management and City Operations

State Spotlight: California: Utilizing Portfolio Manager Web Services to Benchmark the State's Building Portfolio

State Spotlight: Rhode Island: Utilizing Partnerships to Establish an Energy Data Inventory

Resources

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) List of Utilities that Offer Electronic Data Interchange

Sample Electronic Data Interchange File

DOE Better Buildings® Energy Data Access: Blueprint for Action Toolkit

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency List of Utilities that Offer Portfolio Manager Web Services

Tools

DOE Feasibility Assessment of Electronic Data Interchange (Tool 4.4)

DOE Feasibility Assessment of Third-Party Services (Tool 4.5)

DOE Sample Worksheet to Assess Your Utility Data Access Options (Tool 4.2)

DOE Sample Worksheet to Audit Your Utility Data Collection Process (Tool 4.1)

DOE Sample Worksheet to Evaluate the Feasibility of Utility Data Access Solutions (Tool 4.3)

Step 5. Leverage Data Management Tools »

Leverage data management tools that can help you manage your portfolio of energy-using assets by conducting an organizational assessment to understand your organization's goals, needs, and conditions; evaluating the costs, functionalities, and benefits of tools against the goals, needs, and conditions of your organization; and exploring both freely available and commercially developed tools before investing in tools or services.

Case Studies

K-12 School Spotlight: Aurora Public Schools, Colorado: Deploying Energy Information Systems in Aurora Public Schools

Local Government Spotlight: Beaverton, Oregon: Deploying Energy Information Systems in Beaverton

Local Government Spotlight: Boston, Massachusetts: Energy and Information Technology Staff Collaborate to Design Hybrid Data Management Tool

Spotlight: District of Columbia: Deploying Automated System Optimization in the District of Columbia

Local Government Spotlight: Minneapolis, Minnesota: Deploying a Benchmarking and Monthly Utility Bill Analysis Tool in Minneapolis

Local Government Spotlight: Salt Lake City, Utah: Deploying Fault Detection and Diagnostic Tools in Salt Lake City

Local Government Spotlight: Santa Clara County, California: Deploying Fault Detection and Diagnostic Tools in Santa Clara County

State Spotlight: Kentucky: Deploying Fault Detection and Diagnostic Tools in Kentucky

State Spotlight: Massachusetts: Deploying Energy Information Systems in Massachusetts

State Spotlight: Oregon: Deploying Building Automation Systems in Oregon

Resources

Boston, Massachusetts Enterprise Energy Management System Request for Proposals

District of Columbia Energy and Utility Management Support and Analysis Request for Proposals

Massachusetts Building Energy Intelligence System Request for Information

New York Centralized Energy Management Center Request for Proposals

Phoenix, Arizona Utility Accounts Management Program Software Request for Proposals

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings Energy Data Management Manual for the Wastewater Treatment Sector

DOE Better Buildings Energy Management and Information Systems Specification and Procurement Support Materials

DOE Better Buildings Smart Energy Analytics Campaign Toolkit

DOE Better Buildings Smart Energy Analytics Campaign Example Energy Management and Information Systems Request for Proposals

DOE Better Buildings Smart Energy Analytics Campaign

Tools

Commonwealth Edison Company Business Energy Analyzer

DOE Data Auditing Checklist (Tool 5.1)

Iowa B3 Benchmarking Tool

Kentucky Commonwealth Energy Management and Control System

Massachusetts MassEnergyInsight

Minnesota B3 Benchmarking Tool

New York Power Authority New York Energy Manager

DOE Sample Spreadsheet for Choosing Energy Management and Information Systems (Tool 5.2)

Salt River Project SPATIA Energy Information Services

DOE Building Energy Asset Score

DOE Building Energy Audit Template

DOE Building Performance Database

DOE Energy Data Vault

DOE eProjectBuilder

DOE Energy Performance Indicator Tool

DOE Scout

DOE Standard Energy Efficiency Data Platform

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Assessment Tool

EPA ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager