Slow Progress in Commercial Building Efficiency

Commercial buildings account for approximately 19% of U.S. energy use. From the late 70’s to the mid-to-late 80’s, the energy use intensity – the energy used per square foot of space – of America’s commercial buildings  declined significantly, according to the EIA. However, as of the most recent data, those efficiency gains ceased in 1986, despite technical efficiency improvements in most building elements:  windows, materials, HVAC, lighting, etc. The Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings (GPIC), a U.S. DOE Energy Innovation Hub, is working to identify the cause of this gap between building efficiency and technical potential, and address… [more]