By David Tanguay

Part of the Department of Energy is the Building Technologies Program. The purpose of this program is to improve on how various buildings across the United States use energy efficiently. The Department of Energy has provided energy saving tips in regards to 10 different types of buildings.

Homes

According to the Department of Energy's website, the average amount families spend each year to supply energy to their home is $1300. Everyone is looking to save money, especially with the increased costs that come with providing a home with adequate energy, and the following are tips to help your family reduce that yearly amount:

• Use a programmable thermostat to control the heating and cooling in your home
• Compare your energy use against the national average
• Conduct a home energy audit to determine the largest savings potential
• Install energy efficient lighting such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
• Hire a professional to help you insulate and repair your ducts

Multifamily Buildings

Multifamily buildings are apartment buildings, high rises, town houses, and other various buildings in which multiple families live. The Department of Energy asserts that energy and water costs have more of a tendency to be high in multifamily dwellings, despite the fact that they have more opportunity than single family dwellings to be energy efficient. These tips are generally meant to assist those operating and constructing such buildings in their quest to become more efficient with the building's energy use.

• Lower heating bills by converting electric or oil heating systems to natural gas, and replacing inefficient boilers
• Reduce water usage by repairing water leaks and installing low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets
• Replace old refrigerators with new energy-efficient models
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs in common areas
• Specify ENERGY STAR appliances and other products

Office Buildings

The tendency to consume massive amounts of energy in office buildings is outrageous. According to the Department of Energy, "office building energy bills are the highest of any commercial building type." The use of office equipment adds to this energy consumption. It may be more difficult to use energy efficiently at the office because of the fact that not everyone is "on board" when they are not the one paying the energy bills. However, the following tips can help, provided office workers pitch in on the initiative.

• Control energy costs and enhance employee comfort by installing energy management systems, occupancy sensors, and programmable thermostats
• Save energy costs and improve productivity through increased use of daylighting
• Replace inefficient lighting fixtures with T-8, compact fluorescent, and metal halide fixtures
• Choose ENERGY STAR computers, printers, copiers and other office equipment

Retail Buildings

The Department of Energy admits that it is a difficult thing for retailers to strike a balance between creating an energy efficient environment and attracting customers. Due to displays and signs that potentially consume vast amounts of energy, in addition to regular energy costs for heating and cooling, it is a hard feat to accomplish. It is, however, possible to reduce these costs, and the following tips show retailers how to do this.

• Reduce lighting costs with energy-efficient lighting such as T-8, compact fluorescent, and metal halide fixtures
• Install energy management systems to monitor and control energy use throughout the building
• Control air infiltration in heavily trafficked areas with energy-efficient doors and windows
• Improve comfort and indoor air quality with proper maintenance and cleaning of heating, cooling, and ventilation systems

Health Care Buildings

It probably seems pretty obvious that with the large amount of people entering and exiting health care buildings, as well as utilizing various types of medical equipment in the process, finding ways to reduce energy costs is a difficult one for hospitals and medical facilities. According to the Department of Energy, "medical facilities spend $5.3 billion annually on energy, and rank second only to the food service industry in intensity of energy usage." This astounding budget spent on energy can be decreased through some fairly simple adjustments, as seen in the following solutions.

• Reduce energy and maintenance costs and increase patient comfort by installing centralized energy management systems
• Save energy and water with solar water heating systems and low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets
• Reduce lighting loads by replacing inefficient fixtures with T-8, compact fluorescent, and metal halide fixtures
• Specify ENERGY STAR products for administrative offices

Retail and Health Care buildings have some obvious difficulties facing them in regards to conserving energy and cutting the costs of energy bills. As we have seen, it is possible through the adjustments listed above in the solutions, as well as the assistance of those occupying the buildings. Customers obviously do not have the responsibility to conserve your buildings energy, but workers employed at the building can help out. The big picture, however, is that many energy saving aspects can be best implemented in the construction of new buildings. Many hospitals, as well as retail buildings, are being constructed with this in mind.

Lodgings

Lodgings, the places we stay at when we just want to "get away," are based on pleasing the customer. In fact, if it was not based on this, the lodging simply would not stay in business. Those customers that frequent the facility want to be able to use the air conditioner, swim in heated pools, takes showers, and many other things, and, depending on how large the building is, you can probably see how much energy could potentially be consumed. Here are some tips that lodging owners can work with in order to do their part to reduce energy costs:

• Save energy and water with solar water heating systems and low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets
• Encourage guests to reuse towels and linens
• Save on utility bills and maintenance costs by installing centralized energy management systems
• Install digital thermostats that monitor room occupancy and automatically adjust the temperature when guests enter or exit
• Save on lighting costs with energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors
• Educate cleaning and maintenance staff to turn off lights and adjust thermostats, and implement preventive maintenance programs

Schools

Although the Department of Energy did not list tips in the way they did for the other building sections, the website did give much information on the EnergySmart Schools program. This program has been implemented to build new energy efficient schools, as well as renovate existing schools so that they are also energy smart.

The goal of the EnergySmart Schools initiative that is currently in place is to create buildings that:

• Save $2 billion annually
• Provide healthier learning environments, through better indoor lighting, temperature control, acoustics, and air quality
• Familiarize parents, teachers, and students with affordable, advanced energy-efficiency technologies and practices
• Help slow the demand for new power plants, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• May serve as emergency community shelters during grid power outages

This section of the Department of Energy's website contains information to help with planning, financing, design and building, and operation and maintenance. The site even has a section that incorporates links to over 350 lesson plans and activities for students in kindergarten through 12th grade that teach about energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Universities

As the Department of Energy's web site states, "Colleges and universities are actually office buildings, restaurants, retail shops, multi-family dwellings, sports facilities, entertainment complexes, and schools rolled into one." This demonstrates the amount of energy that inevitably is consumed by various universities. The following are some steps that can be implemented that, in light of the obvious excess that is used at these types of buildings, may help offset some of the energy consumption and costs.

• Reduce energy costs by installing centralized control systems to control off-hour heating, cooling, and lighting across the campus
• Reduce lighting loads and improve comfort by incorporating daylighting systems and energy-efficient lighting such as T-8, compact fluorescents, and metal halide fixtures
• Save energy and water with solar water heating systems and low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets
• Specify ENERGY STAR products for administrative offices, classrooms, and student housing

Government Buildings

"State and local governments spend more than $11 billion annually on fixed-site energy costs, while the federal government is the nation's single largest consumer of energy." This is what the Department of Energy's web site has to say about the cost that is incurred through the energy consumption in government buildings. Even back as far as 1992, there have been plans in place to reduce these energy costs and to make government buildings more efficient. Take a look at the following tips that the Department of Energy has offered to help reduce costs in government buildings.

• Optimize the efficiency of heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) systems with more efficient boilers, motors, and variable-speed drives
• Reduce energy and maintenance costs by installing centralized energy management systems
• Improve indoor air quality and worker comfort with regular maintenance and cleaning of HVAC systems
• Lower electric lighting and cooling loads and boost productivity through increased use of daylighting
• Achieve fast returns and set a strong example by installing energy-efficient lighting

High Performance Buildings

"A high-performance commercial building is a building with energy, economic, and environmental performance that is substantially better than standard practice." These are the types of buildings that the Department of Energy supports, and through their efforts, these are the types of buildings that are continuously being built. Through working with researchers, technologies that involve renewable energy are being evolved in order to incorporate them into new construction to assist in making these new buildings green and environmentally friendly.

As we now see, some buildings are easier than others in succeeding at the goal of energy efficiency. For example, single and multifamily dwellings are fairly simple to make energy efficient. However, others, such as retail buildings and health care buildings, such as hospitals and other medical facilities, are more difficult due to their need to accommodate various consumers who are utilizing their services. To find out more on how to make your building more energy efficient, visit The U. S. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - Building Technologies Program.