Kilowatt Crackdown taps competitive energy

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Seattle-King County in Washington is exploiting the competitive spirit of Puget Sound area business people to realize greater energy efficiency in commercial office buildings.

The Kilowatt Crackdown, staged in partnership with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s Better Bricks program, asks participants to score their building energy use using Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager tracking tool. A trophy of recycled material–not to mention bragging rights and significant operational savings–goes to the building that cuts consumption the most.

Last year, 53 buildings representing 20 percent of the central Puget Sound’s 18 million square feet of office space participated in the competition won by Unico Properties, whose Financial Center in Seattle cut energy use by 17 percent during the contest.

Participation in the current contest, which will run two years, looks like it will be much higher. With nearly two months until the April 30 registration deadline, 48 firms are already signed up.

Interest is likely up for a couple of reasons. One is simply the main streaming of energy efficiency as a smart business practice.

The other is testimony to the effectiveness of smart public policy. In 2009, Washington adopted a law requiring commercial buildings of 10,000 square feet or larger to disclose Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking data and ratings to prospective buyers, lessees, or lenders. The City of Seattle has passed a disclosure mandate to require annual energy performance data for all commercial and multifamily buildings over a certain size.

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