Energize Denver Building Performance Ordinance

Who's covered

Denver's High-Performance Existing Buildings Program covers every commercial or multifamily building in the city, split across two genuinely different tracks by size:

• 25,000 sq ft and larger (inclusive): full annual benchmarking plus building-specific Energy Use Intensity (EUI) performance targets under the Existing Building Performance requirements.
• 5,000 to 24,999 sq ft: a lighter, prescriptive path -- LED lighting or on-site/off-site renewable energy, described in detail below -- instead of full benchmarking and EUI targets.

A handful of building types are exempt from benchmarking outright: buildings without a certificate of occupancy (or temporary CofO) for all 12 months of the reporting year, buildings unoccupied the whole year for renovation, buildings with a demolition permit and commenced demolition work, buildings in qualifying financial distress, standalone parking garages, and power-generation facilities that sell electricity commercially. The Existing Building Performance requirements (the EUI-target side) exempt only demolished buildings, standalone parking garages, and power-generation facilities -- financial distress and renovation vacancy are not automatic performance-target exemptions the way they are for benchmarking, though a building owner in genuine financial distress has other relief available (see Penalties below).

Manufacturing, agricultural, and industrial buildings ("MAI Buildings") -- where a meaningful share of energy goes to process loads rather than comfort heating, cooling, or lighting -- can apply for an MAI designation that swaps the standard EUI-target path for one built around production-efficiency metrics instead. Distribution centers and warehouses don't automatically qualify for this; only buildings with a real manufacturing, agricultural, or industrial process load do.

Key dates

June 1, every year, for the prior calendar year -- the standing benchmarking deadline for every covered building 5,000 sq ft and up (the lighter-path buildings still track a version of this cycle for their own compliance schedule; see below). Submission goes through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager using a Denver Building ID (DBID) and CASR's own submission template and link -- registered against Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR), which administers the whole program.

For buildings 25,000 sq ft and up, EUI performance targets run on their own separate timeline, layered on top of the June 1 benchmarking date -- and the target years and the reporting years for those targets are not the same year, which trips owners up:

Target year	Demonstrated in the Benchmarking Submission due
2024 (interim)	June 1, 2025
2027 (interim)	June 1, 2028
2030 (final)	June 1, 2031

In 2025, CASR let owners request a one-time timeline shift: the 2024 target moves to 2028, the 2027 target is eliminated outright, and the 2030 final target moves to 2032 -- matching the "interim 2027, extendable to 2028; final 2030, extendable to 2032" framing you may see elsewhere. That shift had to be requested when submitting 2025 benchmarking data or an exemption request; it isn't an evergreen, apply-anytime option.

Final 2030 EUI targets are set per building type so that covered buildings collectively achieve a 30% weather-normalized site energy reduction, with no single building's target exceeding a 42% reduction from its own baseline. Interim targets are drawn as a straight line from each building's baseline year to its 2030 target.

Data verification has its own narrow window: a third-party verification checklist is required alongside the Benchmarking Submission for the 2025 or 2026 reporting year, or for whichever year a building's final target evaluation actually happens. It is not an annual requirement outside those windows.

The 5,000-24,999 sq ft lighter path -- a real, dated obligation

This is easy to miss if you're only tracking the 25,000 sq ft benchmarking headline, but it is a genuine, enforceable requirement with its own compliance dates that have already started passing. Owners of buildings 5,000-24,999 sq ft that had a certificate of occupancy (or temporary CofO) on or before November 22, 2021 must complete one of two prescriptive measures:

• Certify that at least 90% of the building's total lighting load is LED, or that all lighting meets the 2019 Denver Building and Fire Code's lighting power density standard; or
• Install on-site or off-site renewable energy generation covering at least 20% of the building's annual site energy usage.

The compliance schedule is staggered by size:

Building size	Compliance deadline
15,001 - 24,999 sq ft	December 31, 2025
10,001 - 15,000 sq ft	December 31, 2026
5,000 - 10,000 sq ft	December 31, 2027

As of this guide's last verification, the first tier's deadline (buildings 15,001-24,999 sq ft, December 31, 2025) has already passed. If your building falls in that size band and you haven't certified LED lighting or installed qualifying renewable generation, you're already past due -- this isn't a future planning item for that cohort, it's an open compliance gap.

Owners with genuine timing constraints have real alternate compliance options here too, not just a bare deadline: a Timeline Extension Option (major renovation, Landmark Preservation Commission review, ownership or tenant change, financial distress, and similar reasons), a Residential Condominium Building Option (100% LED in common spaces plus occupancy sensors plus 100% renewable common-space electricity, in lieu of the whole-building measures), and a 15% Energy Usage Reduction Option (an alternate efficiency measure demonstrated to cut annual site energy use by at least 15%, verified with an energy audit and contractor invoices). None of these are self-executing -- each requires an application to CASR before the compliance deadline.

Penalties

Benchmarking non-submission carries a $2,000 fine, and inaccurate data carries its own, separate $2,000 fine -- confirmed, unhedged figures. These stack: a building that both misses the June 1 deadline and later submits inaccurate data once it does file can be assessed both.

The Existing Building Performance side (EUI target shortfalls) is penalized on a per-kBtu basis over the shortfall -- our records show $0.30-$0.70 per kBtu, but we're flagging this one honestly rather than presenting it as settled: our verification pass could not confirm this figure against Denver's April 2025 rules update, and some secondary sources now cite a lower range (roughly $0.15-$0.35 per kBtu) with actual assessment deferred toward the end of the decade. Denver held a public hearing on further draft rules changes in August 2026, which could move this figure again. If a specific dollar exposure matters to your planning, verify the current rate directly with CASR rather than relying on any published range, including this one.

The lighter 5,000-24,999 sq ft path is enforced through the same general mechanism as everything else in this program: CASR issues a Notice or Order for noncompliance, which can carry a civil penalty. An owner gets a chance to correct the underlying violation (file the missing submission, complete the LED certification or renewable installation, and so on) before a Notice or Order becomes final, and can appeal any Notice, Order, or Decision within 30 days for a $25 filing fee.

Step-by-step: how to comply

1. Confirm which track applies: 25,000 sq ft and up (full benchmarking + EUI targets), or 5,000-24,999 sq ft (the lighter LED-or-solar path). We check this against your building's square footage and flag which schedule applies -- including whether your building already has an open deadline in the lighter-path table above.
2. For 25,000+ sq ft buildings, enter 12 months of energy data in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager with a Denver Building ID and submit through CASR's template link before June 1. We handle the annual data entry and submission once your utility feed is live.
3. Track your building's interim and final EUI targets against the benchmarking-submission years that actually demonstrate them (2024's target shows up in the June 1, 2025 filing, 2027's in the June 1, 2028 filing, 2030's in the June 1, 2031 filing). We monitor your building's trajectory against its assigned target and flag it well before a target-evaluation year, so a shortfall isn't a surprise.
4. For 5,000-24,999 sq ft buildings, complete and document either the 90% LED certification or the 20% renewable-generation requirement by your size tier's deadline. We track which deadline applies to your building and flag it clearly -- but the LED certification itself has to come from a certified third-party lighting professional, and any renewable installation needs a real interconnection agreement, neither of which we can substitute for.
5. If a genuine timing or financial constraint makes a deadline unworkable, apply for the relevant alternate compliance option (Timeline Adjustment, Interim Compliance Hold, or the condominium/15%-reduction options) before the deadline, not after. We can flag which option looks like the right fit based on your situation, but CASR's approval is discretionary and the application itself is yours to file.

What we handle

Denver is one of the more layered programs in this registry -- three real obligations (annual benchmarking, EUI performance targets, and the lighter-path LED-or-solar requirement) stacked by building size, each on its own clock. Run the compliance checker below to confirm which track your building is on and whether you're already past a lighter-path deadline, then join the waitlist. What stays yours: the licensed lighting professional's LED certification, any renewable-energy interconnection agreement, and the underlying capital decisions behind hitting an EUI target.

Frequently asked questions

My building is 18,000 sq ft. Do I have to benchmark it every year like a 25,000 sq ft building?

No. Buildings 5,000-24,999 sq ft are on the lighter path instead -- LED lighting certification or qualifying renewable energy generation, not full annual benchmarking with EUI targets. But that lighter path is a real, dated obligation, not an exemption: an 18,000 sq ft building (in the 15,001-24,999 sq ft tier) had a compliance deadline of December 31, 2025.

Is the December 31, 2025 lighter-path deadline actually in the past now?

Yes, as of this guide's last verification. If your building is 15,001-24,999 sq ft and hasn't completed the LED or renewable-energy requirement, that's an open compliance gap today, not a future item -- the next tier (10,001-15,000 sq ft) is due December 31, 2026.

How does a 2027 EUI target end up being reported in a 2028 filing?

Denver measures compliance against a target year using the calendar-year data reported the following June 1 -- the same lag that applies to every annual benchmarking cycle. So the "2027 target" is a target for calendar-year 2027 performance, and that performance shows up in the Benchmarking Submission due June 1, 2028. It isn't a due-by-2027 filing deadline.

Are the $0.30-$0.70/kBtu Building Performance Standard penalty figures reliable?

Treat them as our best available published range, not a confirmed current rate. Our most recent verification pass couldn't confirm this figure against Denver's April 2025 rules update, and some secondary sources cite a lower range with actual assessment pushed toward the end of the decade. Denver was still working through further rules changes as of August 2026. Confirm the live figure with CASR before budgeting against it.

Does a warehouse or distribution center qualify as an MAI building for the alternate performance metric?

Not automatically. Denver's rules specifically say distribution centers and warehouses don't qualify for the Manufacturing/Agricultural/Industrial designation unless a real share of their energy use goes to manufacturing, agricultural, or industrial process loads -- ordinary storage or distribution use isn't itself a process load.

What happens if my HOA's condo building can't afford the required improvements by the deadline?

There's a specific path for this: the Residential Condominium Reserves Option, available if the building's capital reserves fund is under 30% of its capital reserve study, or if more time is needed to raise funds through dues or special assessments. It requires an energy audit, a compliance plan, and a funding timeline -- it isn't automatic, but it's a real, built-in accommodation rather than something you'd have to negotiate from scratch.

Can I appeal a Denver Notice or Order if I think it's wrong?

Yes. You have 30 days from the date of service to file a Petition for Review, along with a $25 filing fee, and CASR generally renders a decision within 30 days of receiving it. For benchmarking-specific Notices or Orders, you generally have to first file the missing submission or correct any "pending revisions" status before the appeal can proceed.