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Using energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems isn\u2019t just good for the environment, it\u2019s good for your bottom line.<\/p>\n
Several studies have shown that HVAC systems use about half of the total energy use of commercial buildings, and therefore half of energy costs and a big portion of operation costs. Commercial buildings like office buildings, retail spaces and schools consume\u00a0almost 20 percent<\/a>\u00a0of the United State\u2019s total energy. Of these, office buildings consume the most.<\/p>\n The bad news is that\u00a0from 1979 to 2012<\/a>, commercial buildings almost doubled their electricity consumption, from 2.2 trillion BTU to 4.2 trillion BTU. The good news is that the efficiency of use in those buildings is improving. A\u00a02012 government report showed<\/a>\u00a0an average total annual energy used per square foot of commercial buildings was about 80,000 BTU per square foot. This is down from 91,000 BTU per square foot in 2003, a 12 percent drop in just 10 years. It is expected that those numbers will keep dropping as heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment improves in efficiency.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, according to\u00a02016 U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates<\/a>, New York businesses spend $42.35 Dollars a year per Million Btu for retail electricity. That works out to about $3.39 per square foot at the average usage rate reported in 2012.\u00a0On average<\/a>, New York companies provide about 125 to 250 square feet of space per office worker. A company of 200 people using 30,000 square feet of space could therefore easily be spending $100,000 in electricity costs.<\/p>\n Indeed, New York commercial businesses\u00a0spent approximately $11 billion<\/a>\u00a0on energy costs in 2016, providing electricity to 545 million square feet of\u00a0more office space than any other city on the planet<\/a>.<\/p>\n If energy efficiency were improved by 10 percent, that would save New York businesses $1.1 billion!<\/p>\n