Energy benchmarking for buildings and plant engineering

Abstract

Benchmarking is the continuous activity of identifying, understanding and adapting best practice and processes that will lead to superior performance. It is becoming a key methodology for the assessment of energy efficiency opportunity. The process of energy benchmarking is very useful not only to building operation and management, but also to plant engineering and maintenance. By benchmarking the energy use, it is possible to set targets for promoting best practices and achieving better energy efficiency in buildings and industrial facilities. This research paper describes the basic principles of energy benchmarking and explains its significance to building facility management and plant engineering. As energy is important to every society and organization, it is believed that the benchmarking process can help evaluate performance, support decisions and facilitate improvements. The important issues and considerations for the implementation are discussed. It is hoped that more people can understand and make use of the benchmarking techniques to achieve sustainable facilities and plant engineering.