BETTER Office, K-12 School, Multifamily, Public Library, Hospital, and Worship Facility�U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics

Overview of development process and current statistics

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Last Updated: May 2025

Acknowledgments:

• Funding for BETTER comes from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Building Technologies Office (BTO).
• BETTER is being developed under Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) No. FP00007338 between the Regents of the University of California Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Johnson Controls.

U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development Process

We take the following steps to develop “U.S. reference” benchmark statistics for building space types:

1. Assemble a clean and robust building dataset for a space type that is:
• (a) composed of building size, location, and 12 consecutive months of energy consumption (all fuels);
• (b) representative of the U.S. national stock (in terms of climate zone and size distribution) according to the most recent U.S. Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) or Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS); and
• (c) provides at least 30 data points for each of the 10 BETTER model coefficients.
• Note: In the future, for more robust statistics, we aim to have at least 30 data points for each of the 10 BETTER model coefficients for each of the CBECS size categories and RECS size categories in each of the eight International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) climate zones in the United States (and possibly for each of the relevant subtypes A, B, and C in these zones). To contribute anonymous data to this effort, please email support@better.lbl.gov.
2. Develop two change-point models for each building in the dataset (i.e., one for electricity and one for fossil energy).
3. Extract change-point model coefficients (i.e., electric and fossil baseloads, heating and cooling change-points, and heating and cooling slopes).
4. Fit normal distributions to extracted change-point model coefficients.
5. Evaluate the quality of the distributions of change-point model coefficients utilizing statistical tests (e.g., Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, which measures how well the normal distribution fits to the change-point model coefficient data points).
6. Repeat steps 1 to 6 until each distribution is sufficiently robust.
7. Once the distributions are sufficiently robust, we integrate the U.S. reference benchmark statistics (i.e., the median and standard deviation for each inverse model coefficient distribution) into BETTER for field validation.

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Table of Contents

1. K-12 School Statistics

2. Office Statistics

3. Multifamily Statistics

4. Public Library Statistics

5. Hospital Statistics

6. Worship Facility Statistics

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K-12 SCHOOL STATISTICS

Last updated May 2023

K-12 School Database Summary

• # of K-12 schools: 1964
• Total square footage (ft²) of K-12 schools: 219,582,967

5

Last updated May 2023

K-12 School Database: Size Distribution

• K-12 School Size Distribution (ft²)
• CBECS 2018 vs BETTER Statistics

6

Last updated May 2023

Note: comparing K-12 schools to the entire "education" category for CBECS 2018 due to data limitations in CBECS.

Climate Zone Map from IECC 2021

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https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021

Last updated May 2023

K-12 Database: CBECS 2018 and IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

8

U.S. Climate Zones for 2018 Consumption Survey (CBECS)⁴

1. U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2023. “2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Table B23. Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
2. ArcGIS. 2019. “Building America and IECC Climate Zones by U.S. County Boundaries (Detailed).” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8e5c3c6e1fa94e379553e199dcc4e777.
3. U.S. EIA. 2023. “2018 CBECS Table B23 Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace, 2023.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
4. International Code Council. 2021. “International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021.
5. Good = there is data for at least 30 buildings for that RECS climate region.

Last updated May 2023

K-12 School Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

9

To create 2021 iECC climate-zone specific reference benchmark statistics, BETTER requires at least 30 change-point model coefficients for each climate region.

Last updated May 2023

K-12 School Database: 2021 IECC Climate Zone Distribution

• K-12 School: 2021 IECC Climate Zone Distribution

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Last updated May 2023

K-12 Schools: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

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1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated May 2023

K-12 Schools: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

12

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by climate zone:

• Sample size is relatively small to break down the distributions by climates zones (there are less than 30 data points for some coefficients in some climate zones).
• As additional data becomes available, the team will assess different distributions by climate zones and potentially identify unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by climate zones.

Last updated May 2023

K-12 Schools: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

13

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by building size

• Sample size is relatively small to break down the distributions by building sizes (there are less than 30 data points for some coefficients)
• As additional data becomes available, the team will assess different distributions by climate zones and potentially identify unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by sizes.

Building size cutoffs:

Small: area < 1000 m²

Medium: 1000 m² <= area < 10000 m²

Large: area >= 10000 m²

Last updated May 2023

K-12 Schools: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

14

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated May 2023

K-12 Schools: Pilot Phase Compared to Current U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

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The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distribution progression since the BETTER pilot phase in May 2020.

Last updated May 2023

OFFICE STATISTICS

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Last updated March 2022

Office Database Summary

• # of offices: 3837
• Total square footage (ft²) of offices: 1,178,444,051

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Last updated March 2022

Office Database: Size Distribution

• Office Building Size (ft²)
• CBECS 2018 vs BETTER Statistics

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Last updated March 2022

Climate Zone Map from IECC 2021

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https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021

Last updated March 2022

Office Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

• Office: Climate Zone Distribution

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Last updated March 2022

Office Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

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*To create 2021 IECC climate-zone specific reference benchmark statistics, BETTER requires at least 30 change-point model coefficients for each climate region.

Last updated March 2022

Office: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development Process

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

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1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated March 2022

Office: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

23

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by climate zone

• Sample size is relatively small to break down the distributions by climates zones (there are less than 30 data points for some coefficients in some climate zones).
• As additional data becomes available, the team will assess different distributions by climate zones and potentially identify unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by climate zones.

Last updated March 2022

Office: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

24

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by building size

• Sample size is relatively small to break down the distributions by building sizes (there are less than 30 data points for some coefficients).
• As additional data becomes available, the team will assess different distributions by climate zones and potentially identify unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by sizes.

Building size cutoffs:

Small: area < 1000 m²

Medium: 1000 m² <= area < 10000 m²

Large: area >= 10000 m²

Last updated March 2022

Office: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

25

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated March 2022

Office: Pilot Phase Compared to Current U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

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The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distribution comparison between the BETTER pilot phase and the current phase (March 2022).

Last updated March 2022

MULTIFAMILY STATISTICS

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Multifamily Database Summary

• # of multifamily: 1,407
• Total square footage (ft²) of multifamily: 786,188,828

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Last updated January 2023

Multifamily Database: Size Distribution

• Multifamily Size Distribution (ft²)

BETTER Statistics

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Last updated January 2023

Multifamily Database: RECS and IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

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International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map 2021⁴

1. U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2015. “Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) Table HC2.6 Structural and Geographic Characteristics of U.S. Homes by Climate Region, 2015.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/.
2. ArcGIS. 2019. “Building America and IECC Climate Zones by U.S. County Boundaries (Detailed).” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8e5c3c6e1fa94e379553e199dcc4e777.
3. U.S. EIA. 2015. “Table HC10.7 RECS total square footage of apartment units, 2015.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/.
4. International Code Council. 2021. “International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021.
5. Good = there is data for at least 30 buildings for that RECS climate region.

Last updated January 2023

Multifamily Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

• Multifamily: Climate Zone Distribution

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Last updated January 2023

Multifamily: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

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1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated January 2023

Multifamily: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

33

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by climate zone:

• Sample size is now robust enough to break down the distributions by climates zones (there are > 30 data points for most coefficients in most climate zones).
• The team is assessing different distributions by climate zones and potentially identifying unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by climate zones.

Last updated January 2023

Multifamily: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

34

Change-point model coefficients distribution breakdown by building size

• Sample size is relatively small to break down the distributions by building sizes (there are less than 30 data points for some coefficients)
• As additional data becomes available, the team will assess different distributions by climate zones and potentially identify unique U.S. reference benchmark statistics by sizes.

Building size cutoffs:

Small: area < 1000 m²

Medium: 1000 m² <= area < 10000 m²

Large: area >= 10000 m²

Last updated January 2023

Multifamily: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

35

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated January 2023

Multifamily: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by RECS Climate Region

• The team has sufficient data to consider developing benchmark statistics by RECS climate region.

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Last updated January 2023

PUBLIC LIBRARY STATISTICS

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Public Library Database Summary

• Number of libraries: 64
• Total square footage (ft²) of public libraries: 1,781,609

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Last updated JFebruary 2024

Public Library Database: Size Distribution

• Number of libraries: 64
• Total square footage (ft²) of public libraries: 1,781,609

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Last updated November 2023

Public Library Database: CBECS 2018 and IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

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U.S. Climate Zones for 2018 Consumption Survey (CBECS)⁴

1. U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2023. “2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Table B23. Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
2. ArcGIS. 2019. “Building America and IECC Climate Zones by U.S. County Boundaries (Detailed).” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8e5c3c6e1fa94e379553e199dcc4e777.
3. U.S. EIA. 2023. “2018 CBECS Table B23 Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace, 2023.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
4. International Code Council. 2021. “International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021.
5. Good = there is data for at least 30 buildings for that RECS climate region.

Last updated November 2023

Public Library Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

• Public Library: Climate Zone Distribution

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Last updated November 2023

Public Library: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

42

1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated November 2023

Data Availability Check

• All 64 buildings have at least 2 years of utility bills.
• 49 buildings have at least 5 years data
• On average, each building has 11.2 years of data
• This gives us the opportunity to use individual years’ data to augment the sample size.

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Public Library: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

44

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated February 2024

Public Library: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by CBECS Climate Region

• Use individual years’ data to fit models

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Last updated November 2023

HOSPITAL STATISTICS

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Hospital Database Summary

• Number of hospitals: 237
• Total square footage (ft²) of public hospitals: 116,461,947

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Last updated March 2025

Hospital Database: Size Distribution

• Number of hospitals: 237
• Total square footage (ft²) of public libraries:

48

Last updated March 2025

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Hospital Database: CBECS 2018 and IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

49

U.S. Climate Zones for 2018 Consumption Survey (CBECS)⁴

1. U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2023. “2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Table B23. Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
2. ArcGIS. 2019. “Building America and IECC Climate Zones by U.S. County Boundaries (Detailed).” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8e5c3c6e1fa94e379553e199dcc4e777.
3. U.S. EIA. 2023. “2018 CBECS Table B23 Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace, 2023.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
4. International Code Council. 2021. “International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021.
5. Good = there is data for at least 30 buildings for that RECS climate region.

Last updated March 2025

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Hospital Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

• Hospital: Climate Zone Distribution

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Last updated March 2025

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Hospital: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

51

1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated March 2025

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Hospital: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

52

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated March 2025

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Hospital: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by CBECS Climate Region

• Use all years’ data to fit models

53

Last updated March 2025

Data Availability Check

• Most buildings have at least 2 years of utility bills.
• On average, each building has 7.7 years of data
• This gives us the opportunity to use individual years’ data to augment the sample size.

54

Last updated March 2025

​

Hospital: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

55

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated March 2025

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Hospital: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by CBECS Climate Region

• Use individual years’ data to fit models

56

Last updated March 2025

WORSHIP FACILITY STATISTICS

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Worship Facility Database Summary

• Number of worship facilities: 789
• Total square footage (ft²) of worship facilities: 76,346,252

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Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility Database: Size Distribution

• Number of worship facilities: 789
• Total square footage (ft²) of worship facilities:

59

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility Database: CBECS 2018 and IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

60

U.S. Climate Zones for 2018 Consumption Survey (CBECS)⁴

1. U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2023. “2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Table B23. Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
2. ArcGIS. 2019. “Building America and IECC Climate Zones by U.S. County Boundaries (Detailed).” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8e5c3c6e1fa94e379553e199dcc4e777.
3. U.S. EIA. 2023. “2018 CBECS Table B23 Climate zone, number of buildings and floorspace, 2023.” Accessed May 24, 2023 https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2018/.
4. International Code Council. 2021. “International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Climate Zone Map.” Accessed July 11, 2022 https://basc.pnnl.gov/images/climate-zone-map-iecc-2021.
5. Good = there is data for at least 30 buildings for that RECS climate region.

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility Database: IECC 2021 Climate Zone Distribution

• Worship Facility: Climate Zone Distribution

61

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility: U.S. Reference Benchmark Statistics Development

• Criteria for including change-point models and coefficients in U.S. reference benchmark statistics creation:

62

1. At least 12 months’ of consecutive utility bills is required for each change-point model.
2. The R² of a change-point model should be at least 0.4.
3. A coefficient is discarded if it’s more than three standard deviations away from the median.

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

63

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by CBECS Climate Region

• Use all years’ data to fit models

64

Last updated May 2025

Data Availability Check

• Most buildings have at least 2 years of utility bills.
• On average, each building has 2.6 years of data
• This gives us the opportunity to use individual years’ data to augment the sample size.

65

Worship Facility: Change-point Model Coefficient Distributions and

Final U.S. Reference Benchmarks Statistics

66

real data

normal distributions fitted from data

Sample median

One standard deviation from median

Note: For fossil fuel cooling change-point and slope, the sample size is less than 30, which suggests fossil fuel is not typically used for cooling in U.S. K-12 schools. However, the team will continue to add data to these distributions, after available, to increase the representativeness of the statistics.

The following figures show the change-point model coefficient distributions used by BETTER

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility: Electric and Fossil Model Coefficients by CBECS Climate Region

• Use individual years’ data to fit models

67

Last updated May 2025

Worship Facility: coefficient distribution comparison

68