Module 3: Energy Conservation

Overview

Economic Implications

First, according to EnergyStar, “energy represents 30 percent of the typical office building's costs and is a property's single largest operating expense.” ^[2] The main source of energy consumption for the average office building in GA comes from electricity. (See Figure 4.)

Figure 4 – Commercial Office Building Expenses

Office Buildings consume the most energy of all building types with the majority of this energy use coming in the form of electricity, which will be the focus of this guide:

Consider these numbers from the Energy Information Administration regarding energy use by office and commercial buildings ^[3]:

Office buildings use 198 billion kWh (or 676 trillion Btu) of site electricity (electricity consumed within the building) each year.
The majority of this electricity is used for lighting and office equipment (such as computers, printers, faxes and photocopiers). Both lighting and office equipment produce heat, requiring more air conditioning—another predominantly electric end use—to cool the buildings.
Office buildings have an electricity intensity of 18.9 kWh per square foot (for only those buildings that use electricity), somewhat higher than the average for all commercial buildings. (See Figure 5.)

Figure 5 – Commercial Building Energy Intensity

Large (over 50,000 square feet) office buildings use electricity more intensively than smaller buildings; they also pay less per kilowatthour, often because higher consumers of energy are offered better rates by their utilities.
On average, $1.34 per square foot is spent on site electricity in office buildings, more than the national average for electricity usage in commercial buildings ($0.99 per square foot).

Incentives for wise energy use

The main incentives for wise energy use are two-fold: reducing energy costs and reducing negative environmental impacts. However, there are other, perhaps less obvious, reasons to improve your energy management. In addition to ‘doing the right thing’ to reduce impacts to the environment, such efforts can carry a positive image to customers, shareholders, and employees. Also, some energy efficient building features, such as the use of daylighting have been shown to increase occupant productivity and attitude. (ref: http://southface.org/web/about_southface/media_room/SF-in-the-news/EDC-reprint-march2004.pdf) For more information on daylighting visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s: Building Technologies Program, click on the URL: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/design/integratedbuilding/passivedaylighting.html

In general, reducing your usage of electricity and other forms of energy will result in reduced utility bills. But there are other specific incentives, including tax breaks, offered by the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP), has information on specific incentives for commercial buildings, for energy efficient new construction, and for upgrades to existing buildings. For more information visit the TIAP website, click on the URL: http://www.energytaxincentives.org/business/

Also see energy star’s site: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

Special note for federal facilities: Executive Order 13423 “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management” (issued January, 2007) requires a reduction in energy intensity by 3 % annually through 2015 or by 30% by 2015. See the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive for more information.

References

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