Question 1

I believe the City of Miami has my building's square footage listed incorrectly. How do I request an exemption?

Accepted Answer

If you believe your building's square footage is recorded inaccurately, please contact the BE305 Help Center to provide correct information and supporting documentation.

Question 2

How do I obtain whole-building energy and water data?

Accepted Answer

Building owners should reach out to their utility directly to request their monthly whole-building energy use data.

Whole-building utility data for the property's energy water and energy use shall be compiled using one or more of the following methods: 
Obtaining aggregated, whole-building data from a utility company; 
Collecting data from all tenants for nonresidential properties; or 
Reading a master meter.

Question 3

What if I cannot obtain whole-building energy and water data from the utility?

Accepted Answer

If the owner of a covered property does not otherwise have access to whole-building energy and water data, such property owner shall request aggregated, whole-building data from each utility that provides energy or water service to the property and that has made aggregated utility data available to owners before the reporting date of that calendar year.

When a utility does not provide whole-building energy or water data, the owner of a nonresidential covered property shall request energy and water data from tenants or occupants. 
Each non-residential tenant located in a covered property shall, within 30 days of a request by the owner and in a form to be determined by the director, provide all information that cannot otherwise be acquired by the owner and that is needed by the owner to comply with BE305 requirements.

When the owner of a covered property receives notice that a nonresidential tenant intends to vacate a space within such property and the utilities do not provide aggregated, whole-building data, the owner shall request information relating to such tenant's energy and water use for any period of occupancy relevant to the owner's obligation to benchmark.

Question 4

What if my property has more than one type of Property Use? How many Property Use details should I add?

Accepted Answer

The EPA has specific rules for when you should break out separate Property Uses. In order to avoid skewing data or over-defining your property, it is suggested that you list as few Property Uses as possible to obtain accurate data.

If your property is not eligible for an ENERGY STAR® Score, breaking out a separate Property Use Type will not affect any of your metrics. So, the best practice is to list only the Primary Use Type and combine all of your other Property Use details into your Primary Use Type. However, if your property is eligible for an ENERGY STAR Score, you should add an additional Property Use Type only if the Property Use meets any one of the following criteria: 
If the Property Use can get an ENERGY STAR Score. 
Retail can only get a score if it is a "Single Store" of more than 5,000 sq ft. (you can't add together smaller stores), Multifamily Housing can only get a score if there are at least 20 units, etc. 
Here is a list of requirements to get an ENERGY STAR Score for different property types. 
If it accounts for more than 25% of the property's GFA. 
If it is a vacant/unoccupied Office or Medical Office (and the vacancy is greater than 10% of the property's GFA). 
If the Weekly Hours differ by more than 10% for the same Property Type AND that Property Type can get a score (ex: you have two Office tenants, and their hours differ by more than 10%).

Question 5

What is my primary Property Type if my building has multiple Property Uses?

Accepted Answer

If your property has multiple Property Uses, the primary Property Type is based on the Property Type that accounts for more than 50% of your property’s GFA. This is selected when you set up your property and can always be changed by editing your property details in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® (Portfolio Manager).

Once logged in to Portfolio Manager, select your property in the dashboard. Then, open the "Details" sub-tab and scroll down on the right-hand side, where you will see a box that says "Property Type". Click edit under Property Type- Self-Selected. The Property Type you select should match the Property Type that is calculated by Portfolio Manager.

If there is not one single Property Use Type that represents 50% or more of the property’s GFA your Property Type will be classified as "Mixed Use".

A list of Property Types and definitions is available at: U.S. Property Types, Definitions, and Use Details.

Question 6

Are there any energy uses that are not part of my building’s energy use?

Accepted Answer

Parking lots, EV charging stations, cell phone towers, radio masts, and any external billboards used for leased advertising space are not part of your building’s energy use and may be excluded if sub-metered.

If an EV charging station, cell phone tower, radio mast, or external billboard is not sub-metered, please include that information in the “Property Notes” section so that BE305 has an accurate idea of what is included in the energy usage when your report is reviewed.

Question 7

Can I enter energy bills that are not monthly?

Accepted Answer

In order to accurately benchmark a building in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, monthly energy usage is required. For each annual benchmarking submission, the owner of a covered building must include a full 12-months (January 1st – December 31st) of entries for all energy sources at the property for the previous year. For some transport energy sources, such as propane delivery, Portfolio Manager allows for entries that are greater than one month in duration. If a building owner does not receive monthly energy usage, please reach out to the Help Center for further assistance entering your data accurately.

Question 8

Can I track common areas’ energy usage separately from tenants’ usage?

Accepted Answer

If a building owner has access to all common area and tenant usage bills, they can enter the data in separate virtual meters within Portfolio Manager. However, the benchmarking report will not evaluate separate metrics for the common area data versus tenant data. The Portfolio Manager metrics will only evaluate how the building as a whole is using energy.

Question 9

How should I enter District Steam and Chilled Water?

Accepted Answer

If your utility provider offers auto-upload, ask if they include district steam or chilled water in your data. If not, you may need to enter this data into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® (Portfolio Manager) manually. To enter this into Portfolio Manager please log into your account and click on your building in the dashboard. Then click on the Energy tab and on the right-hand side there will be a blue box that says "Add a Meter", click on this box. If there currently are meters in your energy section, then the blue box that says "Add a Meter" will be located under the graph. Check the energy sources that are applicable to your property and click “Get Started.”

Question 10

How should I enter renewable energy information into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®?

Accepted Answer

Building owners can enter electricity data from onsite solar and wind into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® when setting up meters. Obtain data from your installer on the energy used, any energy exported out to the grid, and information about any renewable energy certificates generated. The use of onsite renewable electricity is part of your overall site energy consumption (i.e., the energy requirement of your property) and must be reported and included in your total energy consumption.

If you have Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), this is reflected in your ENERGY STAR® Score and Source EUI by assigning onsite electricity a source conversion factor that is used for grid-sourced electricity. For additional details on green power, see the Green Power PDF created by the EPA.

Question 11

Why is it saying that I do not have whole-building energy data?

Accepted Answer

If you receive an error stating you do not have whole-building energy data, it is likely due to selections made in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® – especially if you’ve confirmed that whole-building energy data is actually entered.

In the “Energy” tab within Portfolio Manager, on the left-hand side find a box that says “You Are Tracking.” There, check whether “Total energy consumption for your property” or “Partial energy consumption for your property” is selected. If the latter is selected, click “Edit”. On the next page, you can update the meter selections. Make sure the option stating, “These meter(s) account for the total energy consumption for ____” is selected. This way, Portfolio Manager will recognize that you have whole-building energy data uploaded.

Please reach out to the Help Center if you continue to have trouble ensuring your data is recognized as whole-building usage.

Question 12

How do I account for COVID-19 operational impacts in my annual benchmarking report?

Accepted Answer

The best practice is to set up your property in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® in accordance with how the building was operating throughout the previous year when you are preparing to submit your benchmarking report. For example, in 2023, you’ll ensure the property details describe how the building operated in 2022.

The main use-type details that may differ drastically from normal operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic are “Weekly Operating Hours” and “Number of Workers on Main Shift”. Those details should be updated/reviewed each year when it comes time to submit your benchmarking report.

Question 13

What if my building isn’t fully occupied?

Accepted Answer

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® (Portfolio Manager) defines "Occupancy" as the percentage of your property’s Gross Floor Area (GFA) that is occupied and operational. This is a measure of the building’s occupancy/use, it is not connected to a building’s “Maximum Occupancy.” Below are some examples for thinking about how occupancy applies to your building in terms of Portfolio Manager: 
Office: Occupancy is a measure of the tenant spaces that are leased. If you have a 10-story building, and on average one floor is vacant, and the other 9 floors fully leased and occupied, then the occupancy would be 90%. If you have people working on all floors/areas of your building, then you are 100% occupied. You do not need to count empty cubicles or the number of employees who enter a property. 
Hotel: Occupancy is a measure of the rooms that are sold. If you have a hotel with 100 rooms, and on average 10 rooms per night are vacant, then the occupancy is 90%. 
Multifamily: Occupancy is a measure of the units that are leased. If you have 100 apartments, and 5 are vacant for the year, then the occupancy is 95%. 
Worship Facility: Occupancy is the percentage of the building that is operational, regardless of how many people are in the building. Most of the time, this will be 100%.

Question 14

What if my whole building is rented by a single tenant?

Accepted Answer

If your building has a single tenant who has assumed management of the entire building, you and your tenant can agree to delegate reporting duties to the tenant. This delegation must be noted in the “Property Notes” section of ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®. However, if your building is not in compliance (not submitted an accurate report or a valid approved waiver request) before the program deadline, the State will penalize the building owner, not the tenant.

Question 15

What if there is split ownership of the building?

Accepted Answer

The primary owner listed in the Tax Assessor records is responsible for compliance with all aspects of the ordinance. If you do not know who this is please reach out to the Help Center and they can help determine where the responsibility lies.

Question 16

What if my property has multiple addresses?

Accepted Answer

In ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, you can input the primary address as your property address or you can list a range of addresses. For example, if your property addresses are 400 Main St, 410 Main St, 420 Main St, and 430 Main St in Portfolio Manager you can input 400-430 Main St. If you are setting up auto-upload or receiving data via a spreadsheet from a utility, be sure to send an email with a list of addresses associated with your property and your Portfolio Manager Property ID* number to your designated provider as well as the Help Center.

*The Portfolio Manager Property ID is different from your Miami Building ID. The Portfolio Manager Property ID is a unique ID created by Portfolio Manager to track your property in their system. It can be found right under your property address in Portfolio Manager.

Question 17

Where do I enter my Miami Building ID?

Accepted Answer

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Please follow the steps below: 
Log in to Portfolio Manager and, from your Dashboard, click on a Property to add its Building ID. 
Navigate to the ‘Details’ tab. 
Scroll down to the ‘Unique Identifiers (IDs)’ box on the left, click ‘Edit’. 
Scroll down to the bottom and find ‘Standard IDs’. From the drop-down menu select Miami Building ID and enter the corresponding Building ID (i.e., M12345). 
Click ‘Save’.

Question 18

What if ownership of a covered building changes mid-year? Who is obligated to benchmark the property?

Accepted Answer

Buildings that have transferred ownership are not exempt from reporting requirements. When a covered property changes ownership, the previous owner shall provide the new owner with all information needed to benchmark for the period during which the previous owner was in possession of the property per Section 10-150.

Whoever owns the building when the benchmarking report is due is required to benchmark and report the property. For example, if you sold your building on November 1st, 2023 but the benchmarking report was due on June 30th, 2023 you are required to complete the 2023 benchmarking report and the new owner will take over next year.

If you are a new owner and took over ownership of a property on May 1st, 2023 you would be required to benchmark the building. New owners who don’t have access to historical data will need to contact their utility provider to obtain the prior year’s whole-building data.

Question 19

How do I determine the gross floor area (GFA) for a building or for a Property Use within the building?

Accepted Answer

Many building owners will have information on gross floor area (GFA) from leasing, sale, or building plans that can provide dimensions for the building and/or individual property uses. City tax assessor records may also have records of square footage in a permit database, however, those records are often organized by parcel or building section, while the ordinance requires compliance at the building level.

The calculation of GFA is a one-time step, necessary only in the first year of reporting. Any estimation of the floor area must be noted in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, under “Property Notes." If the building's square footage changes due to a physical change in the building, such as a remodel, in Portfolio Manager go to the "Details" sub-tab for the property, and under "Property Uses and Use Details", select from the "Action" dropdown “Correct Mistakes.” Then adjust the square footage and save corrections.

Question 20

What is included in my property’s gross floor area (GFA)?

Accepted Answer

The GFA is the total square footage of a building— the total area measured between the exterior walls. The GFA is not the same as leasable/rentable space. Below is a table showing spaces to include with the building GFA and those to exclude:

Include in GFA: 
Atriums (count the base level only) 
Basements 
Break Rooms 
Clubhouses 
Common Areas 
Elevator Shafts 
Laundry Rooms 
Lobbies 
Mechanical Equipment Areas 
Meeting Rooms 
Restrooms 
Stairwells 
Storage Rooms 
Tenant Areas

Do not include in GFA: 
Attics 
Balconies 
Covered Walkways 
Crawl Spaces 
Decks 
Driveways 
Exterior Loading Docks 
Exterior spaces 
Outdoor Courts (Tennis, Basketball, etc.) 
Outdoor pool decks 
Parking 
Patios 
The interstitial plenum space between floors (which house pipes and ventilation)

Question 21

What if I make an error and need to resubmit my building information?

Accepted Answer

If your building is already in compliance and you realize you made an error in your submission and need to resubmit information, please call the Help Center first. We must prepare our system to receive your new data, otherwise it will not register.

Question 22

I own a building covered by the BE305 ordinance, how do I ensure I am receiving programmatic updates?

Accepted Answer

Building owners looking to stay up-to-date on program details should fill out the Claim My Building form

Question 23

What if I want to participate voluntarily?

Accepted Answer

If your building is otherwise exempted, but you want to report your date, please reach out to the Help Center.

Frequently Asked Questions