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Office Building Tenants Can Cut Their Energy Costs

NEW YORK CITY-HVAC and lighting account for 60% of the energy expense of office buildings. Tenants have a number of options to reduce these and other costs. They include negotiating pricing plans that charge a flat unit rate year round.

By John Howe | Updated on May 23, 2001

NEW YORK CITY-For the last three decades, the demand for electricity in the US has increased between 2% and 3% per year while the number of new generation and transmission facilities coming on line has not kept pace. As a result, several regions on the country are facing the possibility of power outages and price increases that could prove devastating to businesses, according to “National Outlook on Power: Supply, Demand & Economic Risk,” a new report from Julien J. Studley Inc.

Part of the shortfall in energy supply is attributed to energy deregulation, a process that is being carried out in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The energy problems now plaguing California are the most conspicuous example of a deregulation program gone wrong. Developing additional energy-generating facilities will take time, but meanwhile there are measures that can ease the problem, according to the report:

* Approximately 30% of an office building’s electrical expense goes for heating, ventilation and air conditioning which can be improved by 15% to 20% by using variable volume systems, zoning damper systems and systems that balance air and water.

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