Building performance standards software that tracks every target all year
Building performance standards are city and state laws that set energy or emissions targets for existing buildings. Boston, Denver, New York, Washington DC, Colorado and Washington State are among the adopters. Aqueduct tracks each building's weather-normalized energy use intensity and consumption by fuel against its target, acts on the gap and verifies reductions. Owners and consultants file.
Every building measured against its own target, every month, in every jurisdiction.
Weather-normalized performance against each building's target
- Normalized EUI
Energy use intensity is adjusted with cooling and heating degree days for each site's location.
- Monthly checkpoints
The gap to target is updated every month, not once a year at filing time.
- Every jurisdiction
Each building carries its own target, so a portfolio across cities is tracked consistently.
The largest gaps get the first findings and fixes
- Ranked by gap
Buildings furthest from target are ranked first, with the likely causes listed.
- Faults routed
Findings go into your CMMS with the asset, the evidence and a recommended fix.
- Demand managed
Loads can be sequenced so they do not all start together and push up peak demand.
Verified reductions and clean inputs for every filing
- Verified at the meter
Each saving is confirmed at the meter before it is counted toward the target.
- Benchmarking ready
Monthly totals by building and fuel export for Portfolio Manager and for local city portals.
- Audit support
Equipment states, fault findings and verified closures support the audit and retro-commissioning steps many laws require.
Building performance standards, before and after Aqueduct
- The gap to target is discovered when the annual filing is due.
- Each city's rule lives in a separate spreadsheet.
- A cold winter looks like a building getting worse.
- Capital projects are proposed without measured evidence.
- Operational waste keeps running while retrofits are debated.
The Aqueduct way- The gap to target is tracked every month.
- Every building and target sits on one data layer.
- Degree day normalization separates weather from performance.
- Measured consumption makes the case for each capital project.
- Operational waste is found and fixed while retrofits are planned.
What building performance standards are and who they apply to
Building performance standards (BPS) go a step beyond benchmarking. Instead of only reporting energy use, owners of covered buildings must meet a target, usually an energy use intensity or an emissions intensity, and improve over time. Early adopters include Boston, Chula Vista, Denver, New York, St. Louis and Washington DC, and the states of Colorado and Washington, with more jurisdictions following.
Each law sets its own size thresholds, targets, timelines and alternative pathways, and most build on an existing benchmarking ordinance that uses ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Many measure performance on a weather-normalized basis, so the same building is judged fairly in a hot or cold year.
Because rules differ by jurisdiction, this page does not quote thresholds or penalties. Check the current rule for each building with the jurisdiction or your advisor. What every BPS has in common is the need for measured consumption by fuel and proof of improvement.
BPS requirement areas and the evidence Aqueduct supplies
One measured dataset across every jurisdiction in your portfolio.
| Requirement area | Evidence Aqueduct supplies |
|---|---|
| Annual benchmarking | Monthly metered consumption by building and fuel, ready for Portfolio Manager |
| Energy use intensity target | Weather-normalized EUI per building, tracked monthly against the target |
| Emissions intensity target | Consumption by fuel for emissions calculations, with the gap tracked through the year |
| Improvement over time | Weather-normalized baselines and savings verified at the meter |
| Audits and tune-ups | Fault findings, equipment states and verified closures that support audit and retro-commissioning steps |
| Portfolio view | Buildings ranked by gap to target across cities and states |
How Aqueduct supports a BPS program
From annual surprise to a gap managed every month.
Meter and baseline
Meters connect over LoRaWAN, Modbus, M-Bus or pulse outputs, and 6 to 12 months of bills give a day-one baseline.
Set each building's target
Your team enters the target that applies to each building, and Aqueduct tracks weather-normalized performance against it.
Act on the largest gaps
Faults, schedules and demand peaks are found, priced and routed to your CMMS, or adjusted where control is enabled with owner approval.
Verify and export
Reductions are verified at the meter, and inputs export for benchmarking and compliance filings.
Performance laws reward buildings that measure, act and verify every month.
Talk to our teamWhat stays with owners and advisors
Aqueduct measures and acts. Compliance decisions stay with you.
Targets and pathways
Which target applies and which pathway to use is set by the jurisdiction and decided by owners and advisors.
Filings and verification
Benchmarking and compliance reports are submitted by the owner, sometimes with third-party verification.
Capital planning
Electrification and major retrofits are planned by owners and engineers. Aqueduct supplies the measured case.
Example laws
Check the current rule for each building.
Where teams put it to work
Portfolios spread across several cities
Owners with buildings under several laws track each one against its own target on one platform, ranked by the size of the gap.
Learn more
Public buildings that lead by example
Governments that pass performance standards often hold their own buildings to them first. Aqueduct supplies measured performance per building.
Learn more
Campus buildings under state targets
Universities in states with performance standards meter each building and verify reductions, so compliance planning starts from evidence.
Learn moreWhat building performance standards ask owners to measure
Building performance standards differ in metric and deadline, but they share a small set of requirements. Check your jurisdiction's current rules for targets and dates.
The performance metric
Some laws use site or source EUI, some use emissions intensity, some use an ENERGY STAR score and some combine them. The metric decides which data matters most.
- EUI by building
- Emissions intensity by fuel
- Score from Portfolio Manager
- Data needed
- energy by fuel and floor area
- Source
- utility meters, bills
- Aqueduct
- the jurisdiction's metric tracked monthly
Annual benchmarking
Most standards build on an existing benchmarking law, usually through Portfolio Manager. Clean benchmarking data is the foundation of every target.
- Complete fuel data each year
- Consistent areas and uses
- Data quality checks passed
- Data needed
- 12 months per fuel
- Source
- meters and bills
- Aqueduct
- monthly totals with gaps flagged
Targets and trajectories
Targets often tighten over successive periods, sometimes with interim targets or a building-specific trajectory. Owners need to know their gap for each period.
- Gap to the next target
- Trajectory to later targets
- Weather-normalized progress
- Data needed
- baseline and current performance
- Source
- the measured dataset
- Aqueduct
- gap per building per period
Energy management and O&M plans
Some standards, such as Washington State's, require an energy management plan and an operations and maintenance program alongside the target.
- Monitoring of energy use
- O&M tasks tracked
- Records kept for the authority
- Data needed
- monitoring and O&M records
- Source
- meters, BMS, CMMS
- Aqueduct
- monitoring, fault alerts and closures
Alternative compliance and adjustments
Many laws allow adjustments or alternative paths, for example for high occupancy, financial hardship or planned major retrofits. Each needs documentation.
- Occupancy and hours evidence
- Before and after measure data
- Schedule of planned works
- Data needed
- evidence for the path chosen
- Source
- meters and occupancy sensors
- Aqueduct
- measured evidence for adjustments
BPS requirements mapped to meters and sensors
A common kit that covers most US performance standards.
| Requirement | What to measure | Meters and sensors | Aqueduct output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site EUI target | Energy by fuel and floor area | Utility meters, gas and thermal meters | Monthly EUI per building |
| Emissions intensity target | Energy by fuel with factors | Same meters | Emissions per area per month |
| Benchmarking | 12 months per fuel | Same meters, bills for gaps | Portfolio Manager ready totals |
| Energy management plan | Ongoing monitoring | Sub-meters on major systems | End-use trends and alerts |
| O&M program | Equipment condition and faults | BMS points, controllers | Fault detection and closures |
| Occupancy adjustments | Actual hours and density | PIR occupancy sensors | Measured occupancy |
| Weather context | Heating and cooling degree days | Weather per site | Weather-normalized progress |
Getting a portfolio ready for its first BPS target
For owners with buildings in one or several jurisdictions.
Map buildings to laws
List each building's jurisdiction, metric, target and dates, and upload bills to see the gap per building.
Meter the buildings at risk
Connect meters and sub-meter major systems in buildings furthest from their targets first.
Close the operational gap
Act on faults and schedules, verify savings and decide which buildings also need capital projects.
Report with a trail
Export totals per building with meter trails for benchmarking and target filings prepared by your team or advisor.
What separates owners who hit their first target
They know their gap early
Owners who track the metric monthly see the gap per building years before the deadline, when operational fixes are still enough.
They meter the worst buildings first
Sub-metering every building at once is slow. Starting with the buildings furthest from target puts effort where the risk is.
They verify every saving
Savings claimed on paper do not move a meter-based metric. Verified results show which measures actually closed the gap.
Sources2 references cited on this page
sites in 21 countries run on Aqueduct.
and 9 clinics in one of India’s top hospital chains.
US airport running water intelligence on Aqueduct.
of commercial real estate under Aqueduct.
FMCG manufacturing campus.
operations run on Aqueduct.
Related
Common questions
Building performance standards are laws that require existing buildings to meet energy or emissions targets, not just report their use. Aqueduct tracks each building against its target with weather-normalized data and verifies the reductions that close the gap.
Early adopters include Boston, Chula Vista, Denver, New York, St. Louis and Washington DC, and the states of Colorado and Washington. More jurisdictions are adopting them, so check current rules. Aqueduct supports portfolios across many jurisdictions from one dataset.
Benchmarking requires owners to report energy use. A building performance standard requires them to meet a target. Aqueduct supplies the metered data for both and helps close the gap to the target.
Weather-normalized energy use intensity is energy per square foot adjusted for how hot or cold the year was. Aqueduct calculates it with regression on cooling and heating degree days, so performance compares fairly across years.
No. Aqueduct supplies measured performance, finds and verifies reductions, and exports inputs. Compliance decisions and filings stay with owners and advisors.
It depends on the building. Aqueduct verifies each operational saving at the meter against a weather-normalized baseline, so you see the actual reduction toward the target. Larger gaps may also need capital projects.
Yes. Aqueduct holds every building on one data layer and ranks them by gap to their own target, so a portfolio spread across cities and states is managed in one place.
They differ in metric, building size thresholds, targets, timelines and alternative paths. Some use EUI, some emissions and some ENERGY STAR scores. Check each jurisdiction's current rules.
Some standards require a written plan describing how the owner monitors and manages energy, plus an O&M program. Aqueduct supplies the monitoring and fault records those plans describe.
Start with buildings furthest from their next target and closest to the deadline. Measured gaps per building make that ranking straightforward.
No. Your team or advisor files. Aqueduct supplies the measured data and the trail behind each figure.
See Aqueduct on your own facility.
Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.