Resources

Energy efficiency

For commercial and multifamily buildings, energy efficiency means delivering the same—or better—service (comfort, lighting, hot water, plug loads) with less energy per square foot and fewer losses through the envelope and systems. It is the lever most owners pull first for lower utility bills, and it is tightly linked to carbon performance as grids and fuels evolve.

How it is measured

Teams usually track site energy use (fuels and electricity consumed at the property) and often normalize it by size or activity—e.g. kBtu per square foot per year or EUI (energy use intensity). Benchmarking programs compare a building to peers or to past years so you can see whether operations and projects are actually moving the number.

Source energy and emissions add grid and fuel carbon to the story; that matters where rules like Local Law 97 care about CO₂, not just kilowatt-hours.

Operations versus capital

Efficiency gains come from two buckets: operations (schedules, setpoints, economizers, maintenance, tenant engagement) and capital upgrades (LEDs, motors, VFDs, envelope work, heat recovery, high-performance HVAC). The best programs sequence them—fix controls and leakage before oversizing new equipment—and verify savings so performance does not drift after contractors leave.