Energy use intensity

Energy use intensity (EUI) is a useful metric to monitor long-term energy efficiency trends for a building. ENERGY STAR® defines EUI as “a unit of measurement that describes a building’s energy use." EUI represents the energy consumed by a building relative to its size. EUI units are often expressed as the energy per square area per year. A building’s EUI calculation is done by taking the total energy consumed in one year (measured in kBtu) and dividing it by the total floor space of the building.

Schedule a demo

Energy use intensity (EUI) and EnergyCAP: spot trends to use less

Energy use intensity in EnergyCAP UtilityManagement visualizes your energy consumption by source over months or years—up to a decade. EUI tracking is a measure of building or portfolio performance that can help you set goals, identify savings opportunities by pinpointing areas of high energy use, and easily visualize your energy consumption from a high level. See your shrinking environmental footprint visualized over time as energy saving projects are implemented.

Energy use intensity: a key benchmarking metric

Because EUI simplifies a building’s energy use into a function of its size or other characteristics, it’s one of the key metrics used in benchmarking. EnergyCAP’s EUI feature provides a standardized metric to compare a building’s energy intensity over time and by commodity. This energy use intensity benchmarking allows you to understand relative efficiency and identify areas for improvement. EUI and energy benchmarking reports help your entire organization stay in the know about your energy use.

How EUI benchmarking works in EnergyCAP

EnergyCAP UtilityManagement uses weather-normalized energy use to calculate annualized EUI and displays it on a trend chart. EnergyCAP UtilityManagement can also roll up EUI values at every level of the organizational hierarchy. This functionality provides a valuable picture of long-term energy efficiency trends for each department, division, region, and business unit, as well as for the entire organization.

The EUI trend chart plots all energy commodities for a building or organization (excluding water, refuse, etc.), and provides a rolling 12-month average trendline where each data point is the sum of global use for the prior 12 months divided by the maximum floor area in the same 12 month period. Customizing the data you see on the chart is a click away.

Getting the most out of your energy use intensity data

Decreasing energy intensity starts with implementing energy projects in the right places—something EnergyCAP helps you with every step of the way. After you’ve identified the energy projects you want to undertake by looking at your bill flags, benchmarked portfolio, and usage data, create and track your projects directly in EnergyCAP UtilityManagement. From there, denote completed energy projects in your EUI chart to see the before and after impact of implementation.

Other best practices include creating an EUI intensity map to visualize your energy use geographically, and keeping your entire organization informed of progress towards your EUI goals with the EUI comparison target year report.

Energy managers love EnergyCAP!

With EnergyCAP, you get a snapshot of a building's energy performance, making it easier to spot energy waste and achieve cost savings.

"It is incredible to me what shared challenges and situations higher ed has and EnergyCAP really really gets that, which I appreciate."

Andrea Moore // Utility Analyst

"The customer support is outstanding, and the response is fast. The Help Center has videos, and the information is detailed.”

Gwendy B.

“EnergyCAP software is an extremely user friendly and reliable system. I have been managing this system for 17 years through various versions of the system. With every version or release of the...

Fara M.

“Every year, legislators want an understanding of what our university system's utilities consumption is and why it is the way it is. EnergyCAP provides an easy-to-use platform that captures all of...

Justin N.

“Don't settle for some half-baked program when you can have the best. I just got a refund of $350,000 from using EnergyCAP data to prove to the water company were being overbilled.”

Patrick B.

"Highly recommended! We could cut 80–90% of the time our energy analysts spend in repetitive tasks such as collecting and handling data to create reports and actions. Their support is second to none,...

Nick Wood // Technology Director

Learn more

Who needs to track EUI?

Organizations with 10+ buildings find value in benchmarking. In general, a lower EUI is “better”, but certain types of buildings and industries will always have higher energy use, and that’s ok. Implementing energy conservation projects are a great way to reduce energy use intensity by building type, benefiting every building across every sector.