Compliance Guide

Understand the steps you need to take to comply with the Energize Denver Benchmarking and Performance Requirements. We developed this guide to help you understand what steps you need to take to stay on track to meet your goals.

Still have questions? Feel free to contact our Energize Denver Help Desk.

1. Track and Submit Energy Use Through Benchmarking

Your benchmarking report is the central tool the city uses to set your energy efficiency target. However, benchmarking your building with enough detail to get the right energy efficiency target can be challenging. We recommend that you go back into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to double check everything. We highly recommend that you use the Benchmarking Checklist(PDF, 622KB) when you fill out or edit your benchmarking report. You can also find the Benchmarking Checklist in Section 4.2 of the Technical Guidance.

Go to the Energize Denver Management Portal

Some questions to ask as you go through your benchmarking report include:

Is your square footage accurate?

The total square footage of the building should be to the exterior walls, not the “rentable” square feet. Section 3.2 in the Technical Guidance has more information about correctly reporting your building square footage.

If your reported square footage is a round number (such as 30,000 sq. ft. exactly), we recommend double checking this number. Very few buildings have such round square footage amounts.

Is your building use type(s) correctly reported?

If your building contains several different uses (such as a strip mall with dining and retail), we recommend you double check that you've accurately reported the building types and square footage.

You will need to provide additional information on your benchmarking report if you have parking, heated swimming pools, data centers, or are a manufacturing or agricultural building.

Is your energy use reported correctly?

For example, if your building has a parking lot, heated swimming pool, or electric vehicle charging stations, these uses can be excluded if they are sub-metered.

If you’ve experienced billing errors in the past year, the auto upload from Xcel Energy may need to be adjusted.

Do you have on-site renewable energy?

Entering your renewable energy generation can boost the chance that you get the Building Electrification Incentive, which is a 10% bonus on your energy efficiency target.

If you aren't sure, review our Benchmarking guidance, or refer to section 4.2 of the Technical Guidance or more detail about how to adjust your benchmarking report.

If you still aren't sure that you've benchmarked correctly, please reach out to the Energize Denver Help Desk.

2. Get the Right Energy Efficiency Target

Every building in Denver 25,000 sq. ft. and larger has an energy efficiency target they must reach by 2032. This target is based on the building's use-type, which we gather from each building's Annual Benchmarking Report. Mixed-use buildings have a blended target based on the percentage of square feet you report having for each building type on your benchmarking report. For example, if your building has both commercial office space and restaurant space, your blended target will be based on how much of the building you have reported as being those use-types.

Because we rely on your benchmarking report to assign your energy efficiency target, it is essential for you to send us an accurate benchmarking report.

You also need to make sure you are accounting for anything in your building that would qualify you for a Standard Target Adjustment. These are elements such as:

Unusual operating hours
Parking lots or garages
Heated swimming pools
Data centers
Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations

The targets we used to create your building's unique final energy efficiency target are below. You can also find them in Appendix A in the Technical Guidance.

Find Your Building Type

EPA Portfolio Manager Building Type	2030 Target site EUI (kBtu/sf/yr)
Adult Education	37.2
Ambulatory Surgical Center	60.7
Aquarium	30% EUI Reduction
Automobile Dealership	42.8
Bank Branch	63.6
Bar/Nightclub	86.6
Barracks	46.3
Bowling Alley	50.5
College/University	60.6
Convention Center	30% EUI Reduction
Courthouse	51.2
Distribution Center	25.4
Enclosed Mall	45.6
Fast Food Restaurant	311.3
Financial Office	48.3
Fire Station	45.6
Fitness Center/Health Club/Gym	50.5
Food Sales	144.3
Food Service	76.9
Hospital (General Medical & Surgical)	165.2
Hotel	61.1
Ice/Curling Rink	30% EUI Reduction
Indoor Arena	30% EUI Reduction
K-12 School	48.0
Laboratory	153.9
Library	52.9
Lifestyle Center	66.6
Mailing Center/Post Office	46.5
Medical Office	69.0
Movie Theater	53.2
Multifamily Housing	44.2
Museum	30% EUI Reduction
Non-Refrigerated Warehouse	27.2
Office	48.3
Other	49.2
Other - Education	37.2
Other - Entertainment/Public Assembly	30% EUI Reduction
Other - Lodging/Residential	51.3
Other - Mall	60.3
Other - Public Services	49.2
Other - Recreation	50.5
Other - Restaurant/Bar	194.1
Other - Services	34.6
Other - Specialty Hospital	165.2
Other - Technology/Science	30% EUI Reduction
Outpatient Rehabilitation/Physical Therapy	60.7
Performing Arts	53.2
Personal Services (Health/Beauty, Dry Cleaning, etc.)	34.6
Police Station	45.6
Pre-school/Daycare	38.9
Prison/Incarceration	83.0
Refrigerated Warehouse	63.9
Repair Services (Vehicle, Shoe, Locksmith, etc.)	32.3
Residence Hall/Dormitory	46.3
Residential Care Facility	63.3
Restaurant	194.1
Retail Store	43.5
Roller Rink	50.5
Self-Storage Facility	7.7
Senior Care Community	63.3
Senior Living Community	63.3
Social/Meeting Hall	33.0
Stadium (Closed)	75.3
Stadium (Open)	75.3
Strip Mall	66.6
Supermarket/Grocery Store	164.4
Transportation Terminal/Station	30% EUI Reduction
Urgent Care/Clinic/Other Outpatient	60.7
Veterinary Office	60.7
Vocational School	37.2
Wholesale Club/Supercenter	43.5
Worship Facility	42.1
Zoo	30% EUI Reduction

Once you have the correct energy efficiency target for 2032, you will also have the correct target for your interim energy efficiency goal, which is due in 2028.

3. Complete an Energy Audit

An energy audit is a great way to ensure that you have reported your benchmarking data to the city correctly. It will also help you understand the biggest energy uses in your building and the most effective ways to improve your energy efficiency.

Your energy auditor can give you a plan and next steps towards meeting your energy efficiency targets. This is the best way to understand the ins and outs of your unique building, and to get a plan hand-tailored to your situation.

There are several different kinds of energy audits, depending on your building type, size, and use-type. Xcel Energy’s Business Energy Assessments can help you figure out the best audit for you to get, and may even be able to refer you to free or deeply discounted audit services. Our list of trained service providers shows professionals who have completed training about the Energize Denver Benchmarking process and the Performance Requirements.

Please note: this list of service providers just shows those who have completed the trainings. Denver has not vetted their business or the quality of their work. We are not endorsing any of the listed providers, but informing you of the providers who have completed our training.

4. Create an Energy Efficiency Plan

Once you have an energy audit in-hand, creating your plan to meet your energy efficiency targets is much easier.

Your energy audit report will include the biggest opportunities to improve energy efficiency in your building, which will bring you close to your energy efficiency target.

However, the energy audit report may not be enough on its own to get you a full plan to your energy efficiency goals. That's why we designed this program to be flexible. Since each building is unique, a "one-size-fits-all" approach is never going to get all of Denver's largest buildings into compliance. Instead, we offer a variety of options to help buildings get into compliance. These option include:

Target Adjustments, which buildings can seek for a variety of reasons, like being an historical or unique building.
Customized Targets, for buildings who have taken all available steps and still cannot find a viable way to their energy efficiency goal
Renewable Energy Credits, which give an energy efficiency "bonus" to buildings powered by renewable energy.
Electrification Incentives, which give an energy efficiency "bonus" to buildings that have electrified their air and water heating systems.
An alternate compliance option for Manufacturing, Agricultural, and Industrial (MAI) Buildings, which offers additional pathways and metrics for qualified buildings.
Compliance Assistance for Equity Priority Buildings, which include human service providers or low-income housing.

Our goal is to work with buildings and help them meet their energy efficiency targets, rather than penalize them for non-compliance. Buildings that work with us and put in a good-faith effort to meet their targets are unlikely to be penalized. Look through the flexible compliance options and figure out a strategy that will work for you and your building's unique circumstances.

5. Apply for More Time to Comply (if Needed)

Even with a solid plan for improving your building's energy efficiency, you may need more time to implement your plan than our standard deadlines give you. For this reason, we have a variety of ways you can extend the time you have to comply, depending on your circumstances:

Interim Compliance Hold: A two-year pause on requirements for temporary situations
Timeline Extension: A long-term extension driven by an owner-developed compliance plan
Residential Condominium Reserves Option: A long-term extension specifically for condominium HOAs who need more time to fundraise for building improvements

Short-term reasons you might have that should cause you to consider an interim compliance hold application include:

Qualifying financial distress or financial solvency concerns
Lease terminations or vacancy rate concerns
Redevelopment areas
Plans to demolish the building
Adaptive reuse project timing
Change of building ownership
Natural or man-made disasters
Landmark preservation commission review

Long term issues you might have that would qualify you for a timeline extension include:

Planning for end of major equipment system life
Planning for major renovation or building electrification
District steam loop system limitations
Energy service capacity issues from Xcel Energy

We know that improving your building takes time and resources. These options for extending your time offer building owners more flexibility to make and execute effective projects in their buildings.

6. Learn How to Save on Your Building Upgrades

The City and County of Denver, the State of Colorado, Xcel Energy, and a number of our partners around the Denver area offer rebates, incentives, and other ways to money on equipment replacement and project financing.

We compiled a robust list of rebates, grants, resources, programs, and financing options for buildings, based on their broad use-types. This list is not exhaustive, and we are always working to add new resources as we learn of them. This is a great place to start as you look for ways to help you pay for building upgrades.

Building Resources by Type