Boulder Building Performance

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO 2021 BPO DEADLINES

The City of Boulder is officially extending the 2021 compliance deadlines associated with the Boulder Building Performance Ordinance (Ordinance No. 8071) in order to minimize near-term impacts as area businesses continue to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Specific deadlines that are to be extended are:

Energy Assessment requirement for all buildings 30,000 to 49,999 square feet extended from June 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021;
The One-time Lighting Upgrade requirement for all buildings 50,000 and greater (including city facilities) extended from June 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022; and,
Retro-commissioning Report requirements for all buildings over 50,000 square feet and larger (including city facilities) extended from June 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022. All Retro-commissioning Measure Implementation requirements will be moved from June 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024.

There will be no change to June 1, 2021 Rating and Reporting deadline for all buildings 20,000 square feet and larger including city facilities.

Boulder Building Performance Program

Program Updates

Submit Reports Online for Compliance:

Submit the 2020 Energy Report to the city through Portfolio Manager.
Submit the Level I Energy Assessment Report to the city through the Online Submission Form
Submit the One-Time Lighting Compliance Upgrade Interior Lighting Compliance Form AND complete Exterior Lighting Compliance with COM check
Submit your Retro-Commissioning Report

For ordinance overviews by building type, see:

About

In support of community energy and climate goals, the Boulder City Council adopted the Boulder Building Performance Ordinance (Ordinance No. 8071) on Oct. 20, 2015. These rating and reporting and energy efficiency requirements move beyond current voluntary programs to require actions that reduce energy use and improve the quality of Boulder’s commercial and industrial building stock.

Read the City Manager Rule, which interprets and further defines provisions of this ordinance.

View the Boulder Building Performance infographic for a quick overview of the requirements and compliance timeline.

View the Building Performance Map for compliance results.

Questions? Contact the Help Desk 8am-5pm MDT at [email protected] or (844) 811-8785.

Ordinance Requirements

This ordinance requires privately-owned commercial and industrial buildings and city-owned buildings to do the following:

Annually Rate & Report (R&R) building energy use; and
Implement Efficiency Requirements, including:
- Perform energy assessments (EA) every ten years;
- Perform retrocommissioning (RCx) every ten years and implement cost effective RCx measures within two years of the study; and
- Implement one-time lighting upgrades.

Deadlines

Deadlines for each requirement are listed by affected building type and square footage (SF) below.

Efficiency Requirement Compliance Deadlines
Affected Buildings	Energy Assessment	Retrocommissioning	RCx Measure Implementation	Lighting Upgrade
City buildings > 10,000 sf*	May 1, 2019	May 1, 2022	May 1, 2024	May 1, 2022
Existing buildings > 50,000 sf New buildings* > 10,000 sf	June 1, 2019	June 1, 2022	June 1, 2024	June 1, 2022
Existing buildings > 30,000 and < 50,000 sf	December 31, 2021	June 1, 2023	June 1, 2025	June 1, 2023
Existing buildings > 20,000 and < 30,000 sf	June 1, 2023	June 1, 2025	June 1, 2027	June 1, 2025
City buildings >5,000 sf must complete lighting upgrades but are not subject to energy assessments or retrocommissioning.* *Existing buildings that meet the definition of a Large Industrial Campus (three or more buildings, at least partially used for manufacturing, served by a central plant or single utility meter) have custom requirements and deadlines* due to their unique nature. ***Any commercial or industrial building for which an initial building permit was issued on or after January 31, 2014.

Additional Information

Enforcement

If you are the owner of an affected building, you are required to rate and report building energy data and complete efficiency actions by the deadlines posted (see above). Failure to do so can result in fines of $0.0025 per square foot up to $1,000 per day of non-compliance.

Any tenant of an owner subject to the provisions of this chapter shall, within 30 days of a request, provide to the owner any information that cannot otherwise be acquired by the owner and that is needed to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

How to Comply

View the following pages for detailed information, resources, forms and guidance for complying with the ordinance requirements:

Exemptions may be available. Review the Exemption Reference Guide and Exemption Request Form for more information.

For overviews by building size see the following:

Note: Large Industrial Campuses have custom requirements and timelines.

Program Reports

2015/2016 Building Performance Program Report

2017/2018 Building Performance Program Report Update *NEW*

Individual reporting from Large Industrial Campuses is available under Public Narratives.

For information on training, rebates and incentives, please see Resources.

For information on finding or becoming a Qualified Service Provider, please see Service Providers.

For information on the history of the Building Performance Ordinance and other similar programs around the country, please see Background.

Read the case study with Conscience Bay to learn how energy improvements can benefit property owners and businesses.

See Frequently Asked Questions for more information.