Seeing is Believing: Mapping Building Efficiency Potential Across a Metro Region

Just as cities can map distributed solar potential based on rooftop orientation and shading, regional energy efficiency potential can be mapped based on patterns of building types and their anticipated efficiency needs. Understanding the geography of efficiency brings an opportunity to leverage development patterns for enhanced community-scale programs. This paper reviews a GIS-based tool that can visualize, measure and compare different program tactics at the community scale. It was developed for the Twin Cities metro using tax parcel and LiDAR data, and builds on data showing that cost-effective efficiency priorities can change based on a building’s use, era of construction, and size. At the regional scale, these dominant building styles form patterns governed by how land use has changed over time. Project results measure how the region’s distinct land use patterns, from a mix of farmland and exurban development to an older urban core, change the potential for different efficiency tactics. The tool can help communities prioritize programs, as well as identify similar areas suitable for potential coordination.