Office Buildings energy planning: load, costs and contract choices

Start with the actual operating profile

Office-building purchasing starts with occupancy, lease structure and central plant responsibility. Hybrid attendance can change internal gains and schedules without eliminating the base load. A landlord should distinguish whole-building meters, tenant meters and recoverable common-area costs.

Map electricity and gas separately

The electrical review should identify cooling, fans, lighting, plug loads and lifts. For natural gas, establish whether the site uses boilers and domestic hot water where gas systems serve the building. Equipment fuel and meter ownership matter: a tenant may pay only part of the building’s utility cost.

For the cost review, keep energy cost per occupied or rentable square foot separate from a supplier energy rate. The operating metric includes the business’s activity and chosen cost boundary; the supply price measures a different part of the decision.

Translate operating plans into contract questions

Compare access-control occupancy patterns with HVAC start and stop times.

A tenant departure or fit-out can undermine a consumption forecast used for a volume commitment.

Ask how the forecast and planned changes are handled in volume, assignment or closure terms before approving a contract.

Keep procurement and efficiency evidence separate

Review ventilation and scheduling through the building engineer rather than imposing a blanket reduction.

For internal monitoring, consider energy cost per occupied or rentable square foot. Use a consistent definition and compare similar periods. This operating metric is a management tool, not a universal benchmark or an ENERGY STAR score.

The verification record should connect the result to rent roll changes. Changes in that activity can explain a bill movement even when the supply price is unchanged.

Records for a useful review

Alongside twelve months of bills and the current agreement, prepare the records that explain office buildings operations:

• Rent roll changes.
• Central plant schedules.
• Meter map.
• Recoverable expense rules.

Hypothetical tenant-departure cost ratio

Hypothetical: an office building spends $120,000 annually on owner-controlled energy while 80,000 square feet are occupied, averaging $1.50 per occupied square foot. After a tenant leaves, spending falls to $105,000 and occupied area to 60,000 square feet. The ratio becomes $1.75 despite a $15,000 lower bill. This occupied-area budget metric is not whole-building EUI.

Review remaining base loads, common systems and lease recoveries before labeling the higher ratio poor performance. Keep gross-area energy benchmarking separate. Update the supply forecast and examine volume and assignment terms when occupancy changes materially; a smaller rent roll does not automatically produce proportional reductions in every utility charge.

Questions & answers