Back in 2014, the 1201 Lloyd building, located in NE Portland’s Lloyd EcoDistrict, had a respectable, but unexceptional, ENERGY STAR Rating of 75—the lowest score that still qualifies for certification. Together Building Engineer Don Leland and Property Manager Lisa Klein embarked upon a journey to benchmark the building’s energy performance and make smart investments to improve building performance.

Klein and Leland looked to Energy Trust of Oregon and other partners to uncover several inefficiencies in building systems that were ripe for improvement. Energy Trust provided technical assistance in the form of engineering studies, as well as cash incentives to help reduce upfront costs.

Studies showed the HVAC system was running 24/7 and lighting was outdated, wasting a significant amount of energy. The makeup air unit was retro-commissioned with a variable frequency drive and demand-control ventilation. Next, on several interior floors, T8 lighting was replaced with energy-efficient LEDs—increasing lighting quality for tenants and reducing maintenance repairs.

Over the course of four years, six energy-efficiency projects were completed—and saved a staggering total of over one million kilowatt hours of electricity and 3,000 therms of gas in first-year savings alone. Through the use of energy benchmarking, Klein and Leland were able to track building performance and reduce energy usage at 1201 Lloyd by 30%.