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Glossary
Counties and local government

What is County facilities energy management?

Definition

County facilities energy management is the program a county government uses to track, control and report energy and water across the buildings it owns and operates, such as courthouses, jails, administration offices, libraries, health clinics, road depots and parks. It combines utility bill tracking, metering, maintenance and capital planning under limited budgets and staff.

What it is

Counties run a wide mix of buildings, from 24-hour detention centers to small rural libraries, often with aging equipment and a small facilities team. Utility costs come out of the general fund, so they compete directly with public services.

A county energy program usually starts with bill tracking and benchmarking, then moves to metering the largest sites, fixing operational waste, and planning upgrades. Many counties also use performance contracts or grants to fund improvements.

The challenge is turning scattered bills and building automation systems into one portfolio view that the facilities director, finance and elected officials can all trust.

Who it applies to / where it is used

County facilities directors, energy managers, finance and budget offices, sustainability officers and county commissioners or supervisors. Programs often respond to state benchmarking rules, climate action plans or budget pressure.

How it is measured / what evidence it needs

Evidence for a county program starts with the portfolio and works down to buildings and systems.

  • Utility bills for every account, validated against meters
  • Energy and water use intensity by building
  • Weather-normalized baselines to show real change
  • Interval data for the largest sites
  • Verified savings from completed projects

How Aqueduct helps

Aqueduct gives a county one portfolio across all its buildings, built from bills on day one and meters over time.

  • Uploaded utility bills give a weather-normalized baseline for every building from the start
  • aQ EnergySmart and aQ WaterGuard add live metering at the largest sites
  • Where control is enabled, with owner approval, schedules follow building occupancy
  • Portfolio reports give finance and elected officials measured results, not estimates
Questions

County facilities energy management: common questions

A county energy manager tracks utility use and cost across county buildings, finds and fixes waste, plans upgrades, and reports results to leadership and, where required, to the state.

Start with a complete list of utility accounts and buildings, benchmark them, and focus first on the largest and most energy intensive sites, often detention centers and courthouses.

Use weather-normalized baselines and measured data before and after each project. That separates real savings from changes in weather or occupancy.

Yes. Uploading 6 to 12 months of utility bills gives a baseline on day one. Metering can then be added at the sites where it pays off.

See Aqueduct on your own facility.

Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.

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