An examination of the “transportation energy intensity” of

An examination of the “transportation energy intensity” of buildings found that getting people to and from work uses more energy than the buildings themselves consume. The article in Environmental Building News shows that for an average office building in the US, 30 percent more energy is expended by office workers commuting to and from the building than is consumed by the building itself for heating, cooling, lighting, and other energy uses. For an office building built to modern energy codes (ASHRAE 90.1-2004), more than twice as much energy is used by commuters than by the building. “This was a huge surprise,” says Environmental Building News executive editor Alex Wilson, author of the article. “I knew that transportation energy requirements were significant, but I was amazed at the differences.”