As I’ve mentioned before, I used to work in a bookstore. And sooner or later, someone would walk in with The Question.

“So, I’m looking for this book … by this guy … and I think it’s blue?”

Amazingly enough, we often could track down the Mysterious Blue Book, but usually only after a number of follow-up questions. “Do you remember where you saw or heard about it? About how long ago? What kind of book? What caught your interest?”

Context matters. And that’s just as true for buildings as it is for books.

Some of you may remember that in 2021 we began a voluntary commercial building energy benchmarking program for buildings of 20,000 square feet or larger. We got some great participation in that first year and with spring coming back around, it’s time to add some more.

What is benchmarking? Basically, it’s context. You calculate a score that compares your building’s energy use with other buildings of the same type in the same climate. That gives you an idea of how you measure up and whether there’s any room for improvement.

It’s an idea that’s been catching on. Right now 37 cities and four states have some sort of benchmarking requirement (including Colorado, which requires it for certain types of properties over 50,000 square feet). After all, the more you know, the more you can do, such as exploring the available Efficiency Works commercial rebates, or taking advantage of the building tune-up program for HVAC systems.

And of course, while benchmarking is a commercial program, energy efficiency is a great idea for the home, too. You can get some ideas for home improvements with a virtual or in-person energy efficiency audit or even some simple devices from the Efficiency Works Online Store to help you out. It all adds up to a great way to save.

That’s definitely one for the books.