Buildings
Highlights
Scroll below the selected highlights for the full set of indicators.

Efficiency Opportunities
Residential and commercial energy consumption primarily occurs indoors. Buildings are main energy efficiency opportunities (e.g., building envelope, sourcing of construction materials, water efficiency, energy management systems, smart buildings) as well as the site of energy-consuming products (e.g. appliances, plug loads, HVAC systems).

Residential Building Energy Use
Residential energy use per household has fallen by roughly 16% from 2001 to 2018.

Commercial Building Energy Use
Commercial building energy consumption per square foot has been declining, in large part due to significant savings in lighting and space heating, which each fell by more than 600 trillion Btu from 2003 to 2012.

Energy Efficiency Gains for Appliances and Devices
The energy efficiency of appliances has increased dramatically since 1980, due to a combination of federal standards and the ENERGY STAR® product certification program. A typical household saves about $500 per year on utility bills due to minimum energy performance standards for appliances, and ENERGY STAR® has helped drive down energy use by refrigerators and clothes washers by 24% (since 1996) and 30% (since 2004), respectively.

Energy Efficiency Gains for Appliances and Devices
The U.S. has decreased its lighting energy consumption by 16% from 2001 to 2015 despite increasing its lamp inventory by 25% over that same period.

Tools to Understand and Enhance Building Efficiency
Benchmarking; energy rating, such as through the Home Energy Rating System or Home Energy Score; and certification (including ENERGY STAR® and LEED) can drive efficiency in buildings. Zero Net Energy Buildings and Smart Buildings are also growing rapidly.

Model Building Energy Codes
Model building energy codes are expected to save $126 billion in energy costs and 13 quads of primary energy over the 2010 to 2040 timeframe.
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Energy Efficiency and Household Cost Reductions
Energy efficiency has driven down energy consumption per household by approximately 16%
Sources: EIA (2019), Monthly Energy Review ; U.S. Census Bureau (2019), Current Population Survey
DETAILS
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Appliance Energy Efficiency Improvements
Appliances and equipment have become more efficient across the board, using a fraction of the energy required in 1980
Source: ACEEE (2015), Energy Efficiency in the United States: 35 Years and Counting, analysis includes supplemental data from AHAM
DETAILS
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Policy Impact: Federal Appliance Standards
Policies for appliance efficiency are saving 14% of the total electricity generated in the U.S., and 6% of delivered natural gas
Source: ACEEE & ASAP (2019)
Source: ACEEE & ASAP (2019)
DETAILS
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Market Impact: ENERGY STAR®
The ENERGY STAR® voluntary certification program has enhanced the market value of efficiency and raised consumer awareness about its benefits
Source: EPA (2019)
Source: EPA (2019)
DETAILS
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Commercial Building Energy Intensity
Gains in lighting and space heating efficiency have decreased energy intensity in commercial buildings, but demand in other areas is driving increased commercial energy use overall
Sources: EIA (2019), Monthly Energy Review ; EIA (1995-2012), CBECS (interpolation of square footage)
DETAILS
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Market Impact: Efficient Lighting from 2001 to 2015
Rapid gains in more efficient lighting, including CFLs and LEDs, have reduced energy use in lighting by 16% in 14 years, while inventory grew 25%
Source: Navigant Consulting (2001, 2010, 2015), U.S. Lighting Market Characterization
DETAILS
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Growth in LED Sales After 2015
Sales of the most common pear-shaped LED lightbulbs have tripled from 2015 to 2018
Sales Index (Avg. Qtr. 2011=100)

Source: NEMA (2019)
A-Line Bulbs: Market Penetration (in %)

Source: NEMA (2019)
DETAILS
The market share of LEDs has accelerated at a similar rate for tubular bulbs (primarily used in the commercial and industrial sectors), achieving more than 25% of the market share by 2018.17 Their adoption has also been driven by their greater controllability, which leads to additional energy efficiency savings in commercial buildings; for example, LEDs are more easily paired with digital control systems, can feature both dimmable and color-changing features, and expel less waste heat.18
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Commercial Building Energy Performance Benchmarking
Commercial building energy performance benchmarking incentivizes energy efficiency and is increasingly required by cities and states
Source: BCSE & BloombergNEF (2019), 2019 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
Source: EPA
DETAILS
A number of states and localities have implemented benchmarking requirements using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in the last decade, such that the square footage of floor area required to be benchmarked has increased dramatically – benchmarking through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager has grown to represent close to 25% of U.S. commercial floorspace.19
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Residential Home Energy Use Rating and Certification Tools
Greater than 4 million energy performance ratings and certifications have been performed since 2012
Source: EPA (2019)
Source: EPA (2019)
DETAILS
HERS provides an estimate of energy performance in new homes, while HES ratings apply to existing homes. The first chart shows annual ratings performed by year, with increases in the use of both rating systems. Cumulatively, more than 2 million homes are estimated to have HERS ratings, or approximately one-fifth of new homes today.22 More than 120,000 homes have received HES ratings.
While HERS and HES provide an energy efficiency rating regardless of the home’s performance, ENERGY STAR® certifies new homes that have achieved higher levels of energy efficiency. The cumulative number of ENERGY STAR® certified homes reached more than 2 million in 2019 (Note that many homes receive more than one rating or certification.).
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Building Certification by ENERGY STAR® and LEED
ENERGY STAR® and LEED commercial building certifications have increased by nearly 3- and 6-fold since 2010
Source: EPA (2019), ENERGY STAR® Certified Building and Plant Locator (database)
Source: USGBC (2019)
DETAILS
LEED certifies the design, construction, and operations of a building. LEED requires the modeled design for its certified buildings to be better than a baseline building’s performance by 5% for new construction and by 3% for major renovations, but most LEED buildings are much more efficient that the minimum requirement.26, 27 A 2014 study documented that the average design efficiency of LEED projects in the study was approximately 27% better than the reference code.28 Post-occupancy studies have also borne out the energy performance of LEED buildings: a 2015 assessment of buildings in Washington, D.C., found that LEED-certified office buildings exhibited 13% less energy use intensity than their peers, and a 2016 report by the State of Washington found that by implementing green building practices, state agencies and higher educational facilities reduced their energy use by an overall average of 37%. And, a 2018 GSA latitudinal study examined 200 buildings over a three-year period, finding that compared to legacy buildings, GSA’s high performing buildings show 23% less energy use.29, 30, 31
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Model Building Energy Codes
Building energy codes have reduced covered energy use in buildings by more than 40% over four decades
Source: ACEEE & PNNL (2019)
DETAILS
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Zero Net Energy Buildings
The U.S. market for zero net energy buildings is growing rapidly
Sources: Team Zero (2017, 2018), Inventory
DETAILS
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Smart Buildings
Nearly half of large commercial buildings have centralized building automation systems
Source: DOE (2019), Sensors and Controls RD&D Overview
Smart Technology Examples |
Energy Savings Potential
|
Smart thermostat |
5-10% of HVAC energy
|
Web-based lighting management system |
20-30% above controls savings
|
Automated shade system |
10-20% of cooling energy
|
Traditional building automation system |
10-25% of whole building energy
|
Source: ACEEE (2017), Smart Buildings: Using Smart Technology to Save Energy in Existing Buildings; Lutron (2014), Lutron Energy Savings Claims
DETAILS
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State-Level Appliance Efficiency Standards
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have established appliance efficiency standards
Number of Products with Standards by State

Product | # of states with Standards | Product |
# of states with Standards
|
Battery chargers | 2 | Lawn spray sprinklers | 4 |
Commercial dishwashers | 3 | Mercury vapor ballasts | 1 |
Commercial fryers | 3 | Metal halide lamp fixtures | 1 |
Commercial steam cookers | 3 | Miscellaneous refrigeration products | 1 |
Compact audio equipment | 3 | Pool pumps | 4 |
Compressors | 4 | Portable air conditioners | 4 |
Computers & computer systems | 5 | Portable electric spas | 7 |
Deep-dimming fluorescent ballasts | 1 | Residential ventilating fans | 3 |
DVD players & recorders | 3 | Showerheads | 5 |
External power supplies | 1 | Small-diameter directional lamps | 1 |
Faucets | 5 | Televisions | 3 |
General service lamps | 5 | Toilets | 5 |
High light output double-ended quartz halogen lamps | 1 | Uniterruptible power supplies | 3 |
High-CRI linear fluorescent lamps | 4 | Urinals | 5 |
Hot food holding cabinets | 10 | Water Dispensers | 10 |
Source: ASAP (2019), State Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards
DETAILS
For products that are not yet covered nationally, state standards can build momentum around efficiency for new types of equipment. For instance, California was the first state to adopt a commercial clothes washers efficiency standard in 2002, shortly followed by eight more states, and then the first federal standard for clothes washers was adopted by Congress in 2005.40
Footnotes
- EIA (2019), Monthly Energy Review
- Calculated based on a trendline from 2003-2018.
- ASAP (2019), Refrigerators and Freezers
- ACEEE (2017), Energy-Saving States of America: How Every State Benefits from National Appliance Standards
- EIA (2019), Frequently Asked Questions
- ENERGY STAR (2019), ENERGY STAR By the Numbers and About Products
- As in the case for ENERGY STAR® dishwashers. ENERGY STAR Unit Shipment data
- EIA (2016), 2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey
- For electricity energy consumption, the “Other” category includes miscellaneous, process equipment, motors, and air compressors as defined by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). For fuel oil and natural gas, the model for other energy use is based on EIA’s regression estimates. NREL (2013), Office Buildings
- Navigant Consulting (2001, 2010, 2015), U.S. Lighting Market Characterization
- ASAP/ACEEE (2018), US Light Bulb Standards Save Billions for Consumers But Manufacturers Seek a Rollback.
- DOE (2019), How Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Compare with Traditional Incandescents
- BCSE & BloombergNEF (2019), 2019 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
- DOE (2019), Energy Conservation Program: Definition for General Service Lamps
- ASAP (2019), Rollback of light bulb standards would cost consumers billions
- NEMA (2019), Second Quarter 2017 Year-Over-Year LED A-Line Lamp Shipments Up, Halogen, Incandescent and CFL Shipments Continue to Decline
- NEMA (2019), Linear Fluorescent Lamp Indexes Continue Year-Over-Year Decline in First Quarter 2019 while T-LED Market Penetration Increases
- LCA (2016), Seven Trends in LED Lighting Control
- ENERGY STAR (2019), Portfolio Manager DataTrends
- While ENERGY STAR®, HERS, and HES are the most common certification and rating systems, there are also others, including Net Zero Energy Building Certification, Passive House Certification, Green Built Homes, and LEED Zero.
- DOE (2019), DOE’s Home Energy Score and FHA Mortgages: New Tools to Help You Shop for and Buy an Energy Efficient House
- RESNET (2019), Demand for HERS Continues to Grow.
- ENERGY STAR (2019), ENERGY STAR certification for your building
- ENERGY STAR (2019), Ten reasons to pursue ENERGY STAR certification
- ENERGY STAR certifications are also counted per building structure; multiple certifications of the same building are counted as a single certification in the above chart.
- According to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, Appendix G (Note: LEED’s current system being tested includes update to Standard 90.1-2016, see USGBC (2019), LEED v4.1)
- USGBC (2019), LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4 – LEED v4
- USGBC (2014), The LEED Plaque Unpacked: What a Decade of LEED Project Data Reveals About the Green Building Market
- USGBC (2015), LEED buildings outperform market peers according to research
- Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (2016), High Performance Public Green Buildings
- U.S. General Services Administration (2018), The Impact of High Performing Buildings
- Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition (2019), The IECC: A Life-Safety Code That Pays 100 Years of Dividends to Occupants & Our Nation
- DOE (2016), Why Building Energy Codes?
- 840,000 single-family homes and 345,000 multifamily units were completed in 2018. Census Bureau (2019), Characteristics of New Housing.
- New Buildings Institute (2019), Getting to Zero Buildings Database
- See, e.g., Washington D.C. proposed code update, Appendix Z.
- In the 2018 Energy Efficiency Indicator Survey conducted by Johnson Controls, participants were asked whether they planned to invest in building controls in the next 12 months: whereas only a third of respondents in 2016 planned to do so, 68% reported plans in 2018 to invest in building controls in the following year, while 74% of respondents in 2018 reported that they did invest in building controls in the past year.
- DOE (2019), Sensors and Controls (S&C) RD&D Overview at BTO Peer Review
- ASAP (2019), States
- ASAP (2019), Clothes Washers, Commercial

