Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the practice of comparing the measured performance of an equipment, process, system, facility, or organisation to itself, its peers, or established norms, with the goal of informing and motivating performance improvement. When applied to energy use, benchmarking serves as a mechanism to measure energy performance of a single product or service over time.

Benchmarking has been recognized to be an effective analysis methodology and management tool that helps to improve efficiency and performance in many areas for different objectives. Energy benchmarking based on the performance of industry leaders or best practices is particularly useful for identifying energy inefficiencies in the production processes to keep performances within established norms, match rival performances in peer benchmarking and estimate the saving potential through cost/benefit analyses. If a product or service performs lower than the standard, the benchmark offers a realistic energy goal. Then systematic energy management – establishing action plan, implementing strategies, monitoring energy consumption and continuous improvement – can be practiced.

Benchmarking is a useful tool for state and local government property owners and facility operators, managers, and designers. It facilitates energy accounting, comparing a facility’s energy use to similar facilities to assess opportunities for improvement, and quantifying / verifying energy savings.