Energy Use Intensity:
Essentially, EUI expresses a building’s energy use as a function of its size or other characteristics. EUI is expressed as energy per square foot per year. It’s calculated by dividing the total energy consumed by the building in one year (measured in kBTU or GJ) by the total gross floor area of the building (measured in square feet or square meters).
Until recently, multifamily property owners, tenants, cities, and utilities undervalued whole-building energy usage data because this information was not widely known or understood. This is now changing as more citywide benchmarking initiatives target multifamily buildings and stakeholders discover multiple uses for detailed and complete multifamily energy usage data.
Right now the average EUI for multifamily development in the nation, according to Energy Star Portfolio Manager, is 59.6 kBtu/SF. An energy-efficiency building is considered any building with an EUI lower than 40.
According to a study done by Glumac, the EUI of Green Seed Seed Apartments at Burnside is projected to be 11.9 kBtu/sf. Buildings that claim to be at the cutting edge of energy efficiency in Portland, Oregon have EUI’s around 19. This makes Green Seed Apartments at Burnside the most energy-efficient multifamily in-fill in the entire Pacific Northwest, and not by an insignificant amount.
If you want to learn about how we reduced our EUI to be the leaders of our field read it here at our blog about passive solar technology: