Large office buildings (those more than 100,000 square feet) in the US use an average of 20 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and 24 cubic feet of natural gas per square foot annually. In a typical office building, lighting, heating, and cooling represent almost 70 percent of total energy use (Figure 1), making those systems the best targets for energy savings. Energy represents about 19 percent of total expenditures for the typical office building, which is a significant operational cost deserving of management attention.

Average energy use data

To better manage your building’s energy costs, it helps to understand how you are charged for those costs. Most utilities charge commercial buildings for their natural gas based on the amount of energy delivered. Electricity, on the other hand, can be charged based on two measures: consumption and demand (Figure 2).