Each function generates its own set of unique visualizations and key performance indicators, intended to help users identify deficiencies in energy use and energy-savings opportunities in large-scale commercial buildings.

The functions library contains the functions of the FRAMeWORK toolkit. Each function is derived from established methodologies in data-driven building energy performance analytics and generates its own set of visuals (plots, graphs, diagrams, etc.) and key performance indicators (KPIs). These outputs are intended to provide the user with a better understanding of a building's performance and foster energy-saving decisions. These decisions may involve:

• Resolving faulty components in air handling units and variable volume terminals
• Resolving anomalous energy consumption in major energy end-uses
• Assessing after-hours energy consumption and the effectiveness of current heating/cooling schedules
• Implementing occupancy-based ventilation controls
• Assessing occupant satisfaction and adjusting temperature setpoint

Buildings use energy - lots of it. In fact, the building sector boasts the second highest energy consumption in North America after the transportation sector. But there's a problem: buildings use far more energy than predicted. This is known as the 'performance gap', and it's in large part due to suboptimal and uninformed operations. Though ample resources and tools to support energy optimization in the design phase are available, methods to facilitate energy optimization during existing buildings’ operational phase are far less common. Thus, the building energy management toolkit intends to pave the way for such methods.

The toolkit is entirely data driven. This means that the user only needs to provide the functions with sets of archived data, with minimal to no required proficiency in the building's geometry, construction, orientation, etc. Of course, these archived data have to be formatted and arranged in a prescribed manner. However, paramount over the functions themselves is the framework of the toolkit. The building energy management toolkit is an initiative for multi-source, data-driven building energy management toolkits and is intended to facilitate community-driven efforts to refine the existing functions or serve as a basis upon which more specialized multi-source, data-driven solutions can be derived. Thus, the source code is open source.