In 2013 and 2014, DVRPC worked with nine municipalities in Southeastern Pennsylvania to provide direct technical assistance to measure, analyze, and develop implementation strategies for energy management in municipal buildings. DVRPC and municipalities identified opportunities to improve how energy is used in a facilitate and prioritized how to implement these improvements.
DVRPC worked with Practical Energy Solutions to: 1) Assist with scoping and prioritizing projects with the municipalities; 2) Conduct energy assessments; and 3) Work with municipalities to incorporate energy management recommendations through the municipal decision-making process. This work was conducted under DVRPC's Circuit Rider for Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations program, funded by the US EPA.
Municipal Energy Management Best Practices from DVRPC's Direct Technical Assistance Program
This guide illustrates the best practices for identifying and implementing energy management opportunities in municipal facilities as identified through DVRPC's Technical Assistance Program. This guide references several local examples of best practices and lessons learned in reducing energy cost and improving building comfort.
Energy Assessments from the Direct Technical Assistance Program
Practical Energy Solutions (PES) performed an energy assessment of eleven municipal facilities in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The municipalities are representative of the different types of municipalities we have throughout the region.
- Bristol Township Energy Assessment: Township Administration Building and Pump Stations
- Cheltenham Township Energy Assessment: Rowland Community Center
- Cheltenham Township Energy Assessment: Township Administration Building
- Horsham Township Energy Assessment: Police Building
- Horsham Township Energy Assessment: Township Library
- Lansdowne Borough Energy Assessment: Borough Hall
- Nether Providence Township Energy Assessment: Township Administration Building
- Phoenixville Borough Energy Assessment: Civic Center
- Towamencin Township Energy Assessment: Township Administration Building
- Upper Darby Township Energy Assessment: Senior Center
- Upper Darby Township Energy Assessment: Township Administration Building
DVRPC's Portfolio Manager Guide [2.3 MB pdf]
Energy Star, a US EPA program, created Portfolio Manager®, an online tool one can use to measure and track energy and water consumption to benchmark the performance of a single building or multiple buildings. Benchmarking is the process of measuring and comparing energy performance over time. Benchmarking allows property owners to analyze energy use and determine where improvements can be made in energy consumption and energy efficiency. DVRPC created a user's guide to provide step-by-step instructions on how to enter buildings into the system, set up utility meters, and add billing data to those meters, as well as how to generate energy reports and share data with others.