According to the United States Congress, buildings are responsible for 39% of all energy used, 72% of electricity consumption and 55% of natural gas. In addition, buildings are responsible for fully 38% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Within these figures it seems clear that heating, ventilation and air conditioning activities account for a significant portion and commercial property owners are therefore well advised to consider a building energy efficiency retrofit.

US Congress Seal

HVAC systems are traditionally built into construction and may not easily be replaced, as such the concept of retrofitting is a much more palatable alternative. Significant funding has been suggested as part of the REEP program, part of the pending American Clean Energy and Security Act. Within the Retrofits for Energy and Environmental Performance program, the federal government will make available funding to individual states to help them manage and accomplish the program’s objectives at individual building level.

It is anticipated that up to $2.5 billion per year through 2013 will be made available should the REEP program be passed as part of the ACES Act. These would be targeted to commercial and residential buildings as as an incentive for them to undergo a building energy efficiency retrofit.

Building owners are not only attracting these potential financial incentives, but they are also aware that a building energy efficiency retrofit is a good idea from the point of view of their overall business model as well. As time goes by it is clear that there will be growing pressure for an organization to show that it is sustainable and has done everything that it possibly could to cut down on its reliance on energy. As government takes steps to both incentivize and also come up with solutions to force organizations to comply, the country in general looks on. It is now seen as being unacceptable to maintain any level of consumption and public opinion calls for a company to take aggressive steps to contain.

Dept Of Energy Seal

The US Department of Energy has been very active in recent times and is paying close attention to overall building efficiency. During a recent meeting in China, the energy secretary agreed that the two countries would jointly study the energy efficiency of buildings, by composing a team of experts to look at heat, air conditioning and lighting optimization. The department has also announced a “retrofit ramp-up” program, tied to the Recovery Act, which will seek input from local communities with the aim of rolling out innovative ideas and focusing on building energy efficiency retrofit tuneups.

With so much in the way of both incentives and pressures ahead, every organization must do all within its powers to maintain a healthy and productive building as part of its goal of corporate sustainability. The word retrofit seems destined to become very topical.