Office of Energy Management & Conservation Announces a Centralized Resource for Energy-Efficient Design.

"The Building Professionals Energy Resource" is Now Available Online

DENVER -- To advance the practice of energy-efficient design and construction in Colorado's residential and commercial buildings, the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC) has developed a centralized information resource.

With the rise of energy costs, there continues to be an increase in market demand for higher-performing buildings and homes that offer greater comfort with reduced energy costs. Building professionals play an essential role in meeting the demand to reduce a building's energy and resources consumption.

A survey discovered that building professionals need an easy-to-access,

centralized, set of energy-related information and tools associated with construction. OEMC and its partners developed the Building Professionals Energy Resource website (http://www.buildingenergyinfo.org/) to increase access to, and use of, available tools and educational resources for advancing energy-efficient design and construction. The site provides information to architects, engineers, designers, builders, sub-contractors, real estate agents, lenders, and building owners.

"This is a really helpful site for finding Colorado-specific, energy-efficient design information," says OEMC Director Drew Bolin.

According to Pat Keegan of the Colorado Energy Science Center (CESC), a recent study of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation found that over the next 20 years half of Metro Denver's existing buildings and 80 percent of new construction employing sound energy efficiency measures could achieve nearly $1.9 billion in energy savings. The results of implementing such measures in buildings across Colorado hold vast potential for reducing energy costs and improving occupant comfort.

OEMC, the Colorado Energy Science Center, and the GreenBAC (Green Building Application Center, a partnership between the CSU Institute for the Built Environment and The Brendle Group) worked with a number of partnering organizations in developing the website: Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, Built Green Colorado, Center for ReSource Conservation, Community Office for Resource Efficiency, Energy Outreach Colorado, iCAST (International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology), R.L. Martin & Associates, Inc., and Architectural Energy Corporation. Other leaders and advisors on the project included: E-Star Colorado, City and County of Denver, Fort Collins Utilities, Eagle Valley Alliance, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

For more information on "The Building Professionals Energy Resource," contact Judy Dorsey, The Brendle Group, Inc., [phone], or Susan Castellon, OEMC, [phone].