This got lost (at least to me) in the grind of the daily news cycle a few weeks ago, but it could impact architects and engineers trying to raise energy perfomance substantially. CBECS, the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, is quite a mouthful. That data undergirds the Energy Star Portfolio Manager program. It is widely used in other energy efficiency programs. Apparently, a cost-cutting gamble taken a few years ago hasn't paid off and the results for the 2007 study aren’t usable.
What's worse, the 2011 program is in jeopardy. This may leave us with the 2003 data as the last objective benchmark for commercial building perfomance. Many other EIA initiatives are also on the chopping block. ASHRAE has spoken up to defend this funding. You can look at the programs that may be discontinued and decide for yourself if this sounds like a wise way to save money in a world of increasingly scarce energy resources:
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