City of Philadelphia Releases Building Energy Performance Regulations

The City of Philadelphia recently implemented regulations pertaining to the Building Energy Performance Policy signed into law by Mayor Kenney in December 2019. The Building Tune-Up policy requires all non-residential buildings 50,000 square feet and larger to either conduct a “tune-up” to bring existing building systems up to a state of good repair, or to get an exemption through a high-performance pathway. The newly released regulations better define the requirements of a tune-up and types of exemptions available to buildings.

The City of Philadelphia anticipates implementation of the Policy will reduce carbon pollution by nearly 200,000 metric tons, the equivalent of taking 40,000 automobiles off the roads.

The City recently conducted a pilot tune-up with Practical Energy Solutions on the Juvenile Justice Center in West Philadelphia to quantify potential savings and found that an initial $12,000 investment will result in $24,000 in annual energy savings.

Paul Spiegel, PE, Director Energy and Environmental Services at Practical Energy Solutions also participated in the Advisory Group for the Philadelphia Building Energy Performance Policy, providing technical guidance during the development of the regulations. Paul remarked, “We have been providing retuning services to our clients since 2006. The process allows owners to get a good pulse on the energy consumption and performance of their building.”

Practical Energy Solutions, a division of Spotts, Stevens and McCoy, is an energy and sustainability engineering firm with a focus on municipal, institutional, educational, and commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy planning and project management. Our goal - to help building owners reduce energy consumption without capital upgrades. We design with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind; but never at the expense of occupant comfort, ease of maintenance, and optimal use of the facility.  Our Philadelphia area-based, independent energy consulting group combines creativity and deep technical expertise to transform your buildings into comfortable, efficient, healthy spaces to live and work.