The engineered model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to calculate the Energy Star score adjusts to include parking energy usage since this is one of the most common end-uses in commercial buildings. To obtain an accurate estimation of the building’s energy usage, the model estimates parking energy use and subtracts this from the building’s energy use. However, if the open surface parking area is equipped with its own energy meter, then it is in the best interest to exclude the parking area and the energy use from the property profile.

The engineered model calculates the energy use of parking based on assumptions around the basic energy requirements for Lighting Energy, Ventilation Energy, and Heating Energy for such a space type.

There are three main types of parking, open surface parking, partially enclosed parking, and completely enclosed parking. For open surface parking, only lighting energy is accounted for in adjusting the Energy Star score. Unfortunately, we often see portfolio managers (PM) energy consumption entries for open surface parking left out, the thought is that since the open parking is outside the building, it should be left out. This is unfortunately not true. If a building’s open parking has lighting provided, it should be included in the portfolio manager profile. The engineered model will estimate the energy usage of the open parking and will adjust the Energy Star score accordingly, which usually helps to increase the score if LED lighting is provided.