Overcoming Barriers to Efficiency

© 2005, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (www.ashrae.org). Reprinted by permission from ASHRAE Journal, (Vol. 47, No. 9, September 2005). This article may not be copied nor distributed in either paper or digital form without ASHRAE’s permission.

Overcoming Barriers to Efficiency
By Thomas M. Lawrence, Member ASHRAE, Jeffrey D. Mullen, Douglas S. Noonan, and Jay Enck, Member ASHRAE

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ommercial and residential buildings consumed approximately 39% of the total energy used in the United States in 20021

with the remaining used in the industrial (33%) and transportation (28%) sectors. Approximately 4.6 million commercial buildings exist in the United States.2 Of these, 68% of the non-governmental buildings are owner-occupied, and the rest are leased or vacant. More than 90% of buildings owned by the U.S. federal government are owner-occupied.3
The majority of energy use is devoted to space conditioning, lighting and other equipment. Figure 1 shows energy consumption in commercial buildings.
Barriers to Installation of High-Performance HVAC Equipment

the viewpoint is different depending on whether the particular building is occupied by the owning entity or is leased. For owner-occupied buildings, the utility and capital expenses are ultimately included in one corporate budget. Thus, decision processes become a justification of any additional expense for higher performing equipment relative to the expected returns via lower energy costs. In an existing building, business management principles determine the evaluation process. The decision is influenced by whether modifications are necessary
About the Authors Thomas M. Lawrence is with the faculty of engineering and Jeffrey D. Mullen is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Douglas S. Noonan is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, Georiga Institute of Technology,

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