Guide: Connecting An Existing Energy Star Portfolio Manager Account to Backpack

Connecting your existing portfolio manager account maximizes your Backpack experience and saves you time!

Before we get started, some definitions:

Definitions

Property Data Administrator - The Property Data Administrator is the person who owns the account & has full sharing capabilities. You must have Property Data Administrator access to share your account with Backpack.

Energy Star Portfolio Manager Contacts/Connections:  People, companies, partners and software providers that are available to CONNECT with and share data.  A person/organization must have a profile in Energy Star to be added as a contact.  You need the contact name and/or email to search for a contact in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager contact/connection list.  You must request a connection to connect with a contact AND the contact must accept your request to connect before you can share your property.  Once you have connected with a contact you can share & edit access to any building in your account.

Sharing in Energy Star Portfolio Manager: The process of sharing your data with an existing contact.  The property can be shared in full (called "bulk sharing" by Energy Star), or limited by parameters the Property Data Administrator sets when sharing a profile (called "personalized sharing" by Energy Star.)

Sharing Permissions: The access provided to the property data.  There are two options: bulk (sharing everything) or personalized (curate the sharing experience for each data point). Backpack requires bulk data sharing; this maximizes the Backpack experience and eliminates time spend maintaining the property in Energy Star.

Energy Star Portfolio Manager Property ID - The unique number Energy Star assigns to each building profile.

If you're curious about other terminology related to Energy Star Portfolio Manager, click here.

If you are already stuck and/or overwhelmed - reach out, we are here to help!  Contact us via the chat in the software or at support@backpacknetworks.com.

The value of sharing your current Energy Star Portfolio Manager account with Backpack:

1. View data in your existing account in the Backpack without having to log into Portfolio Manager. This data will show up as "historical data" in the Backpack.
2. Allows Backpack to view current sharing & to confirm sharing of your Backpack Administered Account is uniform
3. For some properties, the data in the existing account will be utilized in your Backpack Administered Account. This is often the case with managed utility providers.
4. Easy management of Portfolio ID and Compliance Submission ID

Requirements for Sharing a Property with Backpack

1. Property Data Administrator Access
   1. If the building exists in Energy Star but you don't have an ES Portfolio Manager account login, please check with others in your organization to gain access. Often the property team, a sustainability team or members of the engineering team have these login credentials.
   2. If you have access but not at the Property Data Administrator level, please check with others in your organization to find your Property Data Administrator so they can share access. You can also look for the "Sharing this Property" box at the bottom right of the property in Energy Star, that will list everyone with access to the property & their access level. Find the Portfolio Data Administrator there and reach out to them.
   3. Have an existing Energy Star Portfolio Manager account for the property; if you don't have one then you are done! Backpack is creating one for you!
2. Backpack Web Services is a Contact in your Energy Star Portfolio Manager account
   1. If Backpack Web Services is not a contact, you can add Backpack by following the process in this document. Our Contact Details are below.  Remember: The Contact has to accept the request before a property can be shared. 
      
      • Contact Name: Backpack Web Services
      • Email: energystar@bractlet.com

Overview of the process

This helpful document from Energy Star has all the details on the current process of sharing a property.  Below is a high level overview of the process from adding a contact to final sharing:

1. Search for a Contact in Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) using the name and/or email address of the contact
2. Send a connection request to the contact
3. Contact approves the connection request
4. Share the property with the contact using one of the permission options
5. You did it!

If you need help don't hesitate to reach out!  Contact us via the chat in the software or at support@backpacknetworks.com.