WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the 2013 Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. Teams from more than 3,000 buildings across the country are competing to see who can most reduce their buildings’ energy use. The competition specifically targets wasted energy in commercial buildings and motivates businesses to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon pollution, and save money.

The number of participants in the competition has increased from 14 buildings in 2010 — the competition’s first year — to more than 3,200 buildings in 2013. Altogether, last year’s competitors cut their energy costs by more than $50 million and reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by more than 43,000 homes.

More than 25 different types of commercial buildings are facing off in this year’s National Building Competition, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The wide range of competitors includes the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, Fla., a Catholic cathedral and rectory in Seattle, New York City’s historic 100 Park Avenue building, and Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Competitors measure and track their buildings’ monthly energy consumption using Portfolio Manager, EPA’s Energy Star online energy measurement and tracking tool, and work over the year to cut energy waste through improvements that range from equipment replacement to changes in occupant behavior. Midpoint “weigh-in” results will be posted in December, with the winner announced in April 2014.

EPA features a list of the competitors and their weigh-in results on the Energy Star website, a live Twitter feed where competitors will post updates on their progress, an interactive map of the competitors’ locations, and a user-generated photo stream where competitors can upload pictures of their energy-saving efforts.

For more information on the competition, visit www.energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings.

Publication date: 8/19/2013

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