Knoxville, TN: Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Knoxville's portfolio consists of more than 87 buildings and 2 million square feet. Knoxville has improved energy performance by 26% from a 2010 baseline surpassing its 20% goal by 2022. To mitigate the financial impacts on governmental operations, the City of Knoxville and partners used building automation systems to set more aggressive building setbacks and reduced schedules to match activities and reduce utility costs.

Looking at the percent improvement in energy performance across all properties can provide insight into how an organization is saving energy. Knoxville has achieved energy performance improvement of greater than 10% at more than 51 of its properties. There are 22 properties that have experienced an increase in Source EUI.  These properties have been targeted for future energy efficiency improvements.

Property-level energy performance metrics, including EUI and percent improvement to date, are critical to track progress over time and identify opportunities for additional energy savings. Knoxville's portfolio consists of properties with a wide range of baseline EUI values, most of which are from 100 to 400 kBtu/sq. ft. The majority of properties have shown energy improvement since 2010. The properties located near or below the 0% axis may present good opportunities for further savings.