Synergizing disparate component-level energy resources into a single whole building tool to support energy conservation action in small commercial buildings

Small commercial buildings represent 94% of U.S. commercial buildings by number and consume approximately 9% of national total primary energy. However, advancements in building efficiency technologies have focused on large commercial building systems, while these buildings also have the financial support and personnel resources to invest in implementing improvements. Pragmatic and easy to use tools to assist small commercial building stakeholders in making informed and effective energy decisions are scarcely available. One approach is to synergize existing research and resources into a single package. This research presents the development of a building energy assessment resource (BEAR) and implementation in thirteen buildings. BEAR performed similarly and favorably in estimating tenants' total energy consumption across all three enterprise types: food service, retail and office. Results reveal a weighted average absolute difference between BEAR and utility bills of 4.7% for electricity and 13.3% for natural gas estimation. Potential factors impacting BEAR's accuracy include assumptions made for modal parameters, e.g. power and time in mode, in addition to fuel flow rate controls in commercial cooking equipment. Discussions on the broader implications of the developed energy resource include applicability across small commercial enterprise sectors and future advancements directed towards policy makers and energy service providers.