EPA upgrades Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool

If you don't measure it, you can't fix it" is an often heard statement during discussions on how hospitals can improve building performance.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Energy Star program made that all-important measurement task easier with an upgrade of its immensely popular and free Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool.

The new and improved Portfolio Manager features an easier-to-use interface, streamlined functionality, improved usability and enhanced reporting features. Custom tabs let users plan and set goals to track both current and future projects.

EPA has made it easier to get information out of the tool through improved reporting features, including:

• New graphs and tables that users can export as images for use in presentations and reports.
• The ability to create custom tables with individually selected metrics for export to Excel files.

The upgraded tool also provides the ability to share information with other organizations through the use of expanded graphics and an intuitive report-builder.

More cities, states, associations and energy-efficiency program administrators are using Portfolio Manager as a central platform from which to run competitions, campaigns or mandatory benchmarking requirements.

For example, 73 hospitals and medical offices are using Portfolio Manager to measure and track their buildings' energy consumption in the Texas Energy Roundup, a competition sponsored by the Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management, EPA officials say.

To that end, the agency has incorporated several new sharing features in the upgraded tool that allow users to:

• Connect with other hospitals using the program.
• Share information about multiple properties at once and customize the sharing rights.

To learn more, visit www.energystar.gov/PortfolioManager.