Purpose

The CalBEM Benchmarking Database was developed as a free resource for designers, builders, state and local governments, utilities, and building science professionals. The purpose of the project was to develop a tool that is useful for comparing end-use energy consumption for various building types, vintages, and operating profiles within the State of California. The project is funded by Southern California Edison and is developed and maintained by Big Ladder Software.

The database contains output data from prototypical building energy models (BEMs) that represent new construction buildings of various types (e.g. Office, Retail, Hospital, Single-Family Residential, etc). Most of the BEMs were derived from the the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Database for Energy Efficient Resources (DEER). The BEMs follow the standard designs outlined in the Alternative Calculation Methods (ACM) Reference Manuals for the 2008, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (i.e. Title 24, Part 6). The database includes several variants of each prototype building simulated across all 16 California climate zones to offer a wide range of benchmarking data. More information about the building models is available on the Building Energy Models page.

The database web application allows users to view and compare output data from the building energy models (BEMs) in tables and graphs. Raw output data as well as model input files can be downloaded directly from the database.