Labs2Zero Brings New Buildings—and Better Data—to the I2SL Lab Benchmarking Tool

Several new Labs2Zero program tools are now available free of charge to users of the I2SL Lab Benchmarking Tool (LBT), and the LBT peer database of lab building and energy intensity information is growing quickly as a result. Labs2Zero, I2SL’s program to advance the decarbonization of the world’s labs, offers a pilot Energy Score, Operational Emissions Score, and Embodied Carbon Benchmarking for lab buildings, in addition to the interactive benchmarking still available in the LBT that allows users to select a peer group of buildings to compare their performance with that of their own buildings.

With the increased interest in energy performance and carbon footprints of lab buildings, the LBT

has seen a significant increase in the number of users since Labs2Zero was launched in Fall 2022. There are now more than 1,200 searchable peer group buildings in the LBT, up 20 percent from a year ago. The chart on the right tracks the submission of energy data from lab buildings over the last five years, showing the 400 percent increase in the rate of submissions since the launch of the Labs2Zero pilot Energy Score in late 2023. This significant growth is important to LBT users, because a larger database means better benchmarking comparisons, allowing lab owners and operators to hone in on similar buildings and identify specific areas for improvement.

I2SL is still looking for more lab building and energy data for the LBT, and a Quick-Start Guide is now available to help new users determine what information they need to collect. Data is particularly needed to enhance the peer database for some specific types of facilities, including manufacturing facilities, buildings with a large quantity of vivarium space, and lab buildings in cold-weather climates (ASHRAE Climate Zone 6 or higher).

Recent refinements to the LBT include a Target Setter for the Energy Score, which allows lab owners and designers to select a desired Energy Score for a building, then determine what its EUI needs to be to achieve that score. I2SL is also continuing to work on refining the pilot energy and emissions scores and on developing an embodied carbon score for labs. Coming soon, we will launch a pilot for the latest Labs2Zero tool—the Actionable Insights and Measures (AIM) Report. Stay tuned for more information about this interactive software tool that uses data entered in the LBT to provide a high-level quantitative energy assessment for lab buildings and suggest specific savings measures to improve energy performance.