Administrative Citation: a citation for a violation of the Code, the rules and regulations adopted by the Director and promulgated by the Manager, or noncompliance with an Order issued by the Manager by which a civil penalty for the violation or noncompliance is assessed.
Annual Site Energy Usage: the total energy consumed by the building in one year measured in kBtu, including all equipment and fixtures attached to the building energy meters.
Benchmarking: measuring a covered building’s energy performance using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® tool or other similar platforms as Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency may designate.
Benchmarking Submission: the data submitted each year via the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool, or other similar platforms as Denver Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency may designate, using a template and submission link to be distributed and publicized by Denver Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency. All information expressly denoted as mandatory by either ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager or Denver Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency shall be included in the submission.
Campus: a collection of two or more buildings, of any building type or size, that act as a single cohesive property with a single shared primary function and are owned and operated by the same party, such as higher education or hospital campuses.
Common Space: the entire common interest development except the separate interests therein. Common space includes any part of a building or complex that is not owned by one specific resident. Common spaces may include, but are not limited to entrances, exits, doorways, stairwells, common terraces, basements, rooftops, parking areas, elevators and elevator lobbies, gardens, common storage spaces, waste disposal areas, central service installations, and any other portions of land or property with purpose for common use.
Data Center: a room or series of rooms that share data center systems, whose primary function is to house equipment for the processing and storage of electronic data and that has a design total Information Technology Equipment (ITE) power density exceeding 20 watts per square foot (20 watts per 0.092 m2) of conditioned area and a total design ITE load greater than 10 kW. Class A is where 15% or more of the square footage of the building is a data center. Class B is where less than 15% of the square footage of the building is a data center.
Deep-energy retrofit: a deep energy retrofit is a building-specific, whole-building analysis designed to identify points in the building lifecycle where investments in energy efficiency can achieve the highest return. A deep energy retrofit may occur over a few years and will require a more significant financial commitment than conventional energy retrofits. The energy savings created with a deep energy retrofit are generally greater than 40%.
Energy audit: an evaluation of a building that identifies potential energy efficiency measures for building systems and operations in accordance with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 211-2018 Level 2.
ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager: the online tool created by the US Environmental Protection Agency used to measure and track a building’s energy use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Existing Building Performance: the energy efficiency and renewable energy of a covered building measured by site Energy Use Intensity (EUI), or EUI adjusted for renewable energy using data reported via the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool or other platforms as Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency may designate.
Final Decision: for an appeal of a Notice or Order means the Director's decision arrived at after review of the Recommended Decision or its decision after hearing the matter or review of written briefs in the first instance or a Recommended Decision for which Director review is not timely filed.
Frontline communities: those communities that experience “first and worst” the consequences of climate change and have been underrepresented and underserved throughout the years. These include low- to medium-income communities, communities of color and indigenous people, those who speak languages other than English, people with disabilities and chronic conditions, older adults, young children, people with criminal records, LGBTQ+, and refugees and immigrants.
Green Power: Green Power is a generic term for renewable energy sources and specific clean energy technologies that emit fewer GHG emissions compared to other energy sources that supply the electric grid. You may use green power directly from an on-site renewable system or purchase green power from your utility or independent green power supplier.
Gross Floor Area (GFA): the total building square footage, measured between the outside surface of the principal exterior fixed walls of a building. GFA should include lobbies, tenant areas, common areas, meeting rooms, break rooms, atriums (base level only), restrooms, elevator shafts, stairwells, mechanical equipment areas, basements, storage rooms. GFA should not include exterior spaces, balconies, patios, exterior loading docks, driveways, covered walkways, outdoor play courts, parking, or crawl spaces.
Hearing Officer: the person the Director delegates pursuant to the Code to conduct a hearing or review a case that has been submitted for determination based on written argument and written statement of facts.
High Performance Existing Buildings Program: the administrative program implemented by Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency requiring the Benchmarking, reporting, and Existing Building Performance in commercial and multifamily buildings that are located within the City and County of Denver.
Lighting Load: the energy used to power electric lights in a building’s interior, exterior, and parking areas as measured in kilowatt hours. The calculation of lighting load shall include all lighting that is connected to the building’s electrical meter(s).
Lighting Power Density (LPD): the lighting power in watts per square foot.
Manufacturing/Agricultural/Industrial Building: a facility where the majority of energy is consumed in process loads for manufacturing, agricultural, or industrial purposes, or for other process loads. Process loads are energy consumed for bona fide purposes other than heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water, cooking, lighting, appliances, office equipment, small, or other plug loads. This classification includes buildings with Class A data centers, food manufacturing, and ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager building types Drinking Water Treatment & Distribution, Energy/Power Station, Other – Utility, and Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Maintenance Penalty: a penalty assessed if the building met its interim or 2030 targets and switches to a lower level of cost per kBtu not achieved.
Notice or Order: any notice or order, civil penalty assessment, or administrative citation issued pursuant to the Director's authority under the Code.
Off-site green power or renewables: green power purchases from your utility or independent suppliers.
On-site green power or renewables: electric generation systems located at your property that produce Green Power.
Operations and maintenance (O&M): the functions, duties and labor associated with the daily operations and normal repairs, replacement of parts and structural components, and other activities needed to preserve an asset so that it continues to provide acceptable services and achieves its expected life
Operation and maintenance program: A plan meeting the specifications found in American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 100-2018, Section 6, that addresses every applicable building system and element as outlined in Annex D and follows the implementation requirements laid out in Annex L that address the functions, duties and labor associated with the daily operations and normal repairs, replacement of parts and structural components, and other activities needed to preserve an asset so that it continues to provide acceptable services and achieves its expected life.
Owner: the person or entity having a legal or equitable interest in real property and its fixtures and appurtenances, which shall explicitly include but not be limited to a homeowner’s association.
Percent Electricity: the percent of total site energy use that is electricity. Calculated in kBtu, it combines grid-purchased electricity with renewable electricity used at the building and divides it by the total energy used.
Performance period: the defined timeframe of benchmarking data that is used for evaluation of energy performance requirements for compliance. For example, the 2025 target would be evaluated using the benchmarking data from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
Process load: a process load is energy consumed for bona fide purposes other than comfort heating and cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water, cooking, lighting, appliances, office equipment, or other plug loads.
Production Efficiency: the annual site energy usage in a Covered MAI building divided by a standard manufacturing or agricultural production unit(s), such as kBtu per widgets produced or kBtu per pounds of flower produced.
Production Efficiency Improvement: a reduction in energy use intensity from baseline where energy use intensity is calculated as the annual site energy usage divided by a standard manufacturing or agricultural production unit(s).
Recommended Decision: a Hearing Officer's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and the decision he or she recommends to the Director following a hearing or review of written briefs.
Renewable Energy Certificate (REC): Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are the tradable, legal rights to the environmental benefits of green power. These rights can be sold separately from the actual electricity (kWh).
Retro-commissioning: a process to improve the efficiency of an existing building's equipment and systems. It can often resolve problems that occurred during design or construction, or address problems that have developed throughout the building's life as equipment has aged, or as building usage has changed.
Return on investment (ROI): the total annual cost savings of an EEM divided by the initial cost to implement the EEM
Savings to investment ratio (SIR): the total lifetime cost savings of an EEM divided by the initial cost to implement the EEM
Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI): a building’s weather normalized energy use expressed as energy per square foot per year as a function of its size, normalized for weather and other characteristics that are significant drivers of energy performance as feasible with the reporting platform used. A building’s EUI is calculated by dividing the total energy consumed by the building in one year (measured in kBtu) by the total Gross Floor Area of the building.
Social cost of carbon dioxide: either $79 per metric ton of carbon dioxide with an annual escalation rate of 2.5% from January 1, 2022, or the social cost of carbon dioxide as determined by the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado, whichever is greater.
Target Penalty: a penalty level assessed if the building did not reach the 2024 Interim Target, 2027 Interim Target, or 2030 Target during the applicable performance period.
Tenant: a person or entity entitled to the possession, occupancy, or the benefits of any rental unit owned by another person or entity.
Under-resourced building: Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency's evaluation of a building’s status as “under-resourced” includes, but is not limited to, consideration of the following: presence of affordable housing; presence of non-profits and human service providers; buildings of significance to frontline community members; and buildings in areas with high energy burden, asthma rates, low-income residents, and other social equity indicators.