According to the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings consume 18% of total energy consumption and office buildings are the largest user within this segment.  As the price of oil, gas, and other natural resources climbs, the costs of maintaining a less efficient building rise.  Current expectations that these costs will continue to rise in the future, make energy cost savings a vital part of upfitting or new construction. 

Technology in this area is rapidly changing.  As new more efficient systems become available, and costs come down on existing systems, installing state of the art energy efficient systems are good business investments.

Just a few of the new systems and products available to reduce energy consumption are:

• lighting controls
• variable air HVAC systems
• energy efficient lighting
• metered or low volume bathroom fixtures
• daylighting

Use of some or all of these systems can reduce energy costs. To further incentivise more energy efficient buildings, the Federal Government has intiated tax code changes allow for a tax deduction of up to $1.80 a square foot of building area for the installation of systems that reduce the total energy and power costs by 50% or more when compared to a reference building.  The building systems eleigible to secure the tax deduction include:

• Interior lighting systems
• Heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water systems
• Building envelope systems