Commercial & Mixed-use Buildings

Investing in energy efficiency, electrification, and renewable energy can help Maryland’s commercial and mixed-use buildings reduce their operating costs. Whether commercial space is owned or leased, there are a variety of options to reduce energy use and save money.

Moreover, many commercial buildings may be subject to Maryland’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS), which covers buildings 35,000 square feet and larger. Owners of covered buildings under the regulation are required to annually report their energy use and emissions. To learn more about BEPS, visit MDE’s page.

Incentives

Maryland’s commercial building owners and operators can tap into a range of state, federal, utility, and local incentives to help defray the costs of energy efficiency, electrification, or onsite renewable energy measures to existing or new buildings. The Maryland Energy Administration is committed to help building owners or operators understand the range of incentives that they may be eligible to receive. Questions may be directed to building.decarbonization@maryland.gov.

State

Federal

Utility

Local

Technical Assistance

Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) Procurement & Technical Assistance: MCEC provides procurement and technical assistance services for clean energy and decarbonization projects.
Montgomery County Green Bank Technical Assistance Program (Buildings located in Montgomery County ONLY) The Montgomery County Green Bank supports studies for commercial sector owners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including ASHRAE Level I, Level II, Level III/ Investment Grade audits and/or targeted analyses into benchmarking, energy efficiency, renewable energy (e.g., solar PV), electrification, EV charging infrastructure, and resiliency measures. Eligible property types include but are not limited to office, industrial, retail, hospitality, common ownership communities, multifamily rental (market rate and affordable), and nonprofit-owned properties such as faith-based and educational institutions.
Montgomery County Benchmarking Ambassadors (Buildings located in Montgomery County ONLY): Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection curates this list of stakeholders, volunteers, and energy service companies who have received an orientation to the County’s Benchmarking Law on how to properly benchmark in Portfolio Manager. Please note that inclusion in this list does not confer certification, an official endorsement, or approval from the Montgomery County Government or any of its agencies.

Resources

Benchmarking: Energy benchmarking is the process of tracking a building's annual energy use and using a standard metric to compare the building's performance against past performance and to similar building types. Benchmarking improves understanding of energy consumption patterns; helps identify energy saving opportunities within a portfolio of buildings; and manages business bottom line through consistent data collection and tracking.
Energy Audits: Conducting an energy audit is a recommended first step in a building’s electrification and decarbonization journey.
ENERGY STAR Tax Credit and Rebate Finder Tool: This tool helps homeowners find financial incentives for efficient appliances, such as heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, insulation, windows, and electric upgrades.
Medium-Size Commercial Retrofits: How to Electrify Mid-Size Office Buildings: This report analyzes the technical, economic, and environmental implications of retrofitting fossil-gas-fired space heating and domestic hot water systems in a prototypical 50,000 square foot office building.
Guidance Document on Space Heating Electrification for Large Commercial Buildings with Boilers: Most large buildings and many multifamily residences use natural gas or steam boilers to produce hot water to meet space heating demand and tenant comfort requirements. This guidance document focuses mainly on electrification strategies for fossil fuel boilers for existing buildings, which have greater challenges than new-construction applications.
Guide to All-Electric Commercial Retrofits: This product guide helps users navigate technology options available today for building decarbonization.
Better Buildings Initiative: The Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative helps commercial and industrial buildings identify cost-effective energy and water efficiency solutions by barrier, building type, sector, technology, and more.
Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings