Glossary

CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

There is no international consensus on terminology for building energy rating & disclosure. For our site, we have employed a slew of complex and targeted phrases to enhance your ability to search through oceans of documents. We have sorted them by our classifications; but what do we mean by our artifically-created vocabulary? To clear these things up, we have created this Glossary, a miniature Thesaurus, and a step-by-step How to Search page.

 

SEARCHING THE DOCUMENT LIBRARY

When using our search tool in the Document Library, you are given 5 search categories with which to sort documents:

1. Document Classification  (What type of document is it?)

2. Building Sector  (What general building type does it affect?)

3. Building Type  (What specific building function is it catered to?)

4. Rating Type  (What method of rating energy performance is being addressed?)

5. Disclosure Type  (What method of divulging that energy performance is being addressed?)

Each category has 2-10 sub-criteria that you may select to narrow and hone your search. What do we mean by each of these subjective criterion? To understand how we have defined each searchable term, see the Glossary below...

 

GLOSSARY

1. Document Classification 

Efficiency Value:

 Material exploring the economic value and payback from benchmarking practices  and  policies.

General Policy & Strategy:

 Policy recommendations, departmental/regional strategies, policy used as context  for  document, or  general discussion of common benchmarking policies.

Implementation Tools/Materials:

 Documents designed to help the public comply with benchmarking programs currently in place.

Legislation & Regulation:

 Actual legislative or regulatory language related to benchmarking policy.

Policy Evaluation:

 Evaluation, comparison, analysis, and impact studies regarding particular  benchmarking policies,  programs, and legislation.

Policy Implementation:

 Resources describing the public sector role in implementing benchmarking policies/programs.

General Research:

 Research of various types related to the concept and practice of energy  benchmarking.

Technical Documents:

 Information relating to rating and benchmarking methodologies, technical  standards,  rules and  procedures, and software.

News Articles:

 Journalistic media, commentary and other press materials. 

Presentations:

 Content on benchmarking, rating & disclosure prepared for conferences,  meetings  and other  events.

BuildingRating.org Blog:

 Commentary and blog entries posted on BuildingRating.org by project staff or  guest  authors.

2. Building Sector

Residential:

 Owner-occupied or rental housing of any kind. 

Commercial:

 Non-residential, service-oriented properties.

Government: 

 Buildings owned and operated by the public sector or providing public services. 

 

3. Building Type

Single-family:  

 Single structure constituting one dwelling.     

Multi-family:

 Structure containing more than one dwelling.

Office:

 Administration, clerical, and consultation services.

Retail:

 Used for popular services (stores, shopping centers, restaurants, etc.). 

Mixed-use:

 Having features of more than one building type.

Healthcare:

 Structure used predominantly for the provision of medical services.

Education:

 Structure dedicated to educational facilities.

Industrial/warehouse:  

 Structure dedicated to storage or industrial purposes.

Hospitality:

 Transient residential properties.

Speciality:

 Special-purpose buildings (e.g. sports facility, museum).


4. Rating Type

Asset:

 Energy rating based on forecasted energy use (aka. "calculated," or "theoretical"). 

Operational: 

 Energy rating based on actual utility data (aka. "measured" or "metered").


5. Disclosure

Point of Transaction: 

 Disclosure with sale or lease (or occasionally with renovation, loan application or  refinance).

Public:

 General disclosure to the public, a public authority, or government database. 

 

 

ENERGY RATING THESAURUS

Different countries--even different jurisdictions--have unique ways of structuring their programs and local terminology, so use this Thesaurus to identify different ways of saying the same thing--it may help in your searching:

Asset:

 calculated, predicted, predictive, theoretical, design rating   

Operational:

 consumption-based, measured, metered, performance-based

Commercial:

 private, non-residential

Disclose:

 reveal, show, prove, demonstrate, divulge

Government:

 public, administrative

  Point of Transaction:

 time of sale/rent/lease, to buyer/tenant, from owner/landlord

Public label:

 display, show, present, exhibit

Rating:

 certificate, performance certificate, label, value, score

Residential:

 home, apartment, dwelling, condominuium