This presentation will cover a range of topics related to the use of energy benchmarking: metrics, tools, operational differences and efficiencies, early benchmarking pitfalls, fuel cost variances and utility rates, multiyear trend analyses, load profiling, the effect of weather and campus growth on energy and utility indexes, and the pros and cons of the Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey databases. This session will enable you to—

• Assess effective benchmarking approaches that account for internal and external influencers of utility/energy use and costs.
• Describe the importance of multiyear trend analyses for understanding long­term variations such as campus construction and weather patterns on utility/energy use and costs.