As I’ve stated before, I’m a geek. And if there were any doubt, being a fantasy sports fan probably puts the seal on it.

If you’ve ever played fantasy football, baseball, hockey or tiddlywinks, you know exactly what I’m talking about – that wonderful pastime where you draft pretend teams of real athletes and see if their performance is good enough to humiliate your friends and family.  It’s a hobby that lives and dies by data: injuries, matchups, trends, career performances going back years.

It sounds obsessive. OK, it is obsessive. But it’s how you win. The more you understand, the more you can improve.

Just like saving energy, come to think of it.

Last year, Longmont Power & Communications began a commercial building energy benchmarking program with a test group of 20 buildings. This year, we’re offering it to any commercial or industrial building that’s 20,000 square feet or more. The basic idea is simple: compare your buildings’ energy use with ones just like it … the same sort of business in the same sort of climate. That lets you see if you’re doing better than most, about the same, or could maybe use a little work to tighten things up.

Once again: the more you understand, the better you can improve. Even if it does involve things like Efficiency Works business improvements rather than trading for an All-Pro quarterback.

If you’re curious, some of our participants in the 2019 demonstration program will be sharing their experiences in an online panel discussion hosted by the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. We’ve also got a benchmarking webpage with more information on what this is and how to get started. (We hope to open this to smaller businesses in future, so it’s a great chance to get a head start.)

And while this is a business program, we do have other options for home energy efficiency, including an online store and options for virtual efficiency advising.  See what works for you.

It all adds up to the same thing. Chances to save energy. Chances to save money.

No matter how you look at it, that’s a championship move.