Building occupants are energy managers, too

Lucid’s Chief Creative Officer, Gavin Platt, sums up several key lessons about helping occupants become active energy managers in a contributed article on the Johnson Controls “What’s Possible in Building Efficiency” Blog. From the article:

It often comes as a surprise that “plug loads” — the innumerable devices in commercial buildings that use energy, such as computers, copiers, fax machines, kitchen appliances and electric space heaters — constitute as much as 50% of an office’s electricity consumption. What’s even more surprising is that recent empirical measures like this one run contrary to most simulation models, which typically estimate plug loads as 10% to 30% of a building’s electricity use. Regardless of what the actual plug load might be in your building, even the lowest estimates underscore the important role of your building’s occupants in the building’s overall energy usage.

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