Where Do the Energy and Dollars Go?

Lighting systems represent as much as 30% of an institutional building's energy use, and 40% of a school's total energy use. Wasteful lighting systems also increase the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning systems. Space heating represents 37% of a typical government building's energy consumption nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

• Government agencies in the United States spend more than $10 billion a year on energy to provide public services and meet constituent needs. Unfortunately, nearly one-third of the energy used to run a typical government building goes to waste.
• Healthcare organizations in the United States spend more than $6 billion on energy each year to meet patient needs. Every dollar a nonprofit healthcare organization saves on energy is equivalent to generating new revenues of $20 for hospitals or $10 for medical offices. For-profit hospitals, medical offices and nursing homes can boost earnings per share by a penny by reducing energy costs just 5%.
• The annual energy bill to run America's primary and secondary schools is a staggering $6 billion – more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined! The least efficient schools use three times more energy than the most efficient schools. Top-performing ENERGY STAR rated schools cost forty cents per square foot less to operate than the average school.
• Colleges and universities spend close to $2 billion each year on energy. Adopting a strategic approach to energy management can lower their energy bills by 30% or more.

Source: ENERGY STAR

Energy Efficiency Successes

• In 2001, state office buildings cut energy use by an average of 22%, including a 26% reduction in one month.
• California's Department of General Services benchmarked 35 buildings in 2001. One building was awarded the ENERGY STAR rating in 2001 and two more earned the ENERGY STAR rating in 2002.
• A new state complex in Sacramento, the Capitol Area East End, is expected to save $429,000 annually in energy costs as a result of its sustainable and energy-efficient design and construction.
• The strongest energy efficiency building standards in the country went into effect in California in 2001. In five years, energy savings from these standards are expected to reach 1,000 Megawatts (MW) a year – enough to power an estimated 750,000 homes.
• Many cities, counties and special districts in California reduced energy use in their facilities by at least 15% and empowered their communities to use energy more wisely. The City of Poway, for instance, retrofitted traffic lights with energy-efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs), for a 71% energy cost reduction, and built a high-efficiency living community for senior citizens.