After years of seeing the Energy Star label on various products, I was – at first – surprised to see it on the side of an office building. It makes a lot of sense, of course. Energy Star – a joint program of two US government agencies – is all about saving energy and also protecting the environment. It is not surprising, then, that the two government agencies which sponsor Energy Star are the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
If you are stuck in the "Energy Star is for Appliances" mindset, as I apparently was, that is fine. You just need to think of office buildings as great big appliances. If you conjure up street after street of your local downtown lined with massive, multi-story refrigerators and toasters, it is quite comical. Humor aside, however, it is not such a bad notion. What are office buildings, after all, other than huge appliances? That people happen to be able to walk in and out of them doesn't change the fact that they are built for a utilitarian purpose, and have "standard" sets of features which make them easy to use. Elevators, hallways, offices, copiers, and computer systems are just elements of the larger system – the larger appliance – namely, the office building.
I work in an Energy Star building located in downtown Seattle. According to the sign out front, this building uses 41% less energy than an average office building. This is one of those situations, I suppose, where being "below average" is a good thing.
And it is, of course. This building uses less energy, which means less waste, less pollution, and greater efficiency. I am glad to work in such a green building. Here's hoping that all of your office buildings are similarly below-average as well.
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