Office Buildings

In 2005, a total of 160.4 million square feet of office space was built in the United States. California leads with a total direct investment of just over $2 billion followed by Texas with $1.8 billion in direct spending.1 In fact, the commercial real estate sector has been a key driver in keep the U.S. economy going despite the nationwide housing slowdown. In a survey conducted by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the West South Central census region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, contained 84,000 office buildings or about 1,343 million square feet of office space.2

It has been estimated that as much as 30% of the energy consumed in office buildings is wasted.3 This suggests a significant opportunity for energy use reduction, cost savings, and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities, such as combined heat and power.

Across the United States, the average annual energy intensity for office buildings is 79.8 kBtu per square foot and the average cost is $1.65 per square foot. Of the total energy consumption, 66% is for electricity and 34% is for natural gas and other fuels. This translates to 15.5 kWh per square foot of electricity and 0.27 therms per square foot of natural gas.3

Figure 1: Electricity End-Use Consumption in Office Buildings by Activity

Source: Based on data from the Dept of Energy, EIA, Building End-Use Consumption Survey, 1999

• Cost savings for the host facility or customer
• Reliability benefits above those provided by the existing utility grid
• The "green" factor - an ability to reduce the amount of air emissions contributing to global warming