Strategic Options for Increasing Energy Efficiency in Large Office Buildings – Phase II
Project Number PGE 0909 Organization PG&E End-use Whole Building Sector Commercial, Public, Other Project Year(s) 2009 - 2010Project Summary
Large office buildings in PG&E’s service territory use almost 20 percent of the commercial electricity and consume more than 12 percent of the natural gas delivered to commercial customers. A prior study found that achieving energy efficiency alone was not sufficient to motivate decisionmakers at these facilities to invest in and adopt energy-saving measures. Instead, the research suggested that a “whole product” approach was more convincing. Based on Regis McKenna's concept of a whole product, an energy efficiency whole product is a generic (or core) energy efficiency product that is enhanced by whatever is needed to compel a customer to buy in.
The previous research indicated that being seen as a sustainable organization or green building has a positive impact on the value of an owner’s property or business. It also showed that bundling energy savings measures could reduce building energy use by up to 30 percent. Finally, the research also identified links to LEED-based initiatives to align energy efficiency programs with sustainability goals, but the link was not enough to spur interest in aggressive (30%+) energy savings programs.
The purpose of the current study is to design and evaluate concepts that align the features and benefits of a commercial building energy efficiency program with the goals of building owners and other stakeholders involved in implementing energy efficiency projects.