Building Performance Standards Case Study Analysis For Burlington

Burlington Electric Department (BED) engaged Synapse to conduct a net-present-value (NPV) cost analysis on three sample buildings in Burlington to evaluate the impact of installing energy efficiency measures to decrease their energy use intensity (EUI), with a specific focus on reducing space heating energy. The goal of this analysis was to help assess the impact of building performance standards on Burlington's overall building stock. To achieve this, Synapse developed an Excel model to calculate the differences in capital costs, electricity expenses, and fuel costs between a baseline scenario, maintaining the existing building envelope and fossil-fuel space heating system, and an upgraded scenario featuring an electrified space heating system and a tighter building envelope. Synapse utilized NREL’s ComStock model to estimate the energy savings generated by installing these upgrade measures in BED’s selected buildings.