Every year, EPA announces the cities that were home to the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings in the previous year. EPA first released this list in 2009 to help raise awareness about the important benefits energy-efficient buildings can provide for our economy and our environment. Years later, the list continues to show how cities and businesses across America are embracing commercial building energy efficiency as one of the simplest and most effective ways to save money and reduce emissions.

Metro areas are ranked by their count of ENERGY STAR buildings. Cities are defined based on the US Census’ “core based statistical areas,” commonly known as metropolitan areas. We then tallied the total number of buildings that had earned the ENERGY STAR in each metro area last year and ranked the cities accordingly.

ENERGY STAR certified buildings are more efficient than 75% of their peers. ENERGY STAR certification is based on a single year of actual, measured energy performance. ENERGY STAR certified buildings are verified to be more energy efficient than 75% of similar buildings nationwide. Thanks to their efficiency, they use an average of 35% less energy than typical buildings, and cause fewer emissions—including 35% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Certification is valid for one year.

More than 41,000 buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR since 1999. More than 41,000 diverse buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR since 1999, ranging from the Empire State Building to an elementary school in the mountains of Alaska. Together, these buildings have saved nearly $5.4 billion on energy bills and prevented more than 22 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions—equal to the annual emissions of nearly 2.8 million homes.

What’s behind LA’s success: While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why nearly 750 L.A.-area buildings applied for and earned the ENERGY STAR last year, we can look at some related activity in the area. For example, Los Angeles requires commercial and multifamily buildings greater than 100,000 square feet to track and report their annual energy and water use using EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool.

The city also requires that energy utilities provide aggregated energy consumption data, which makes it easier for these buildings to track and measure—and therefore manage—their energy use.

Posted by Maximum Energy Professionals “MEP”, a mechanical engineering firm located in Torrance, CA. Offering sustainability services, ENERGY STAR benchmarking and award certification, California AB802 compliance, City of Los Angeles EBEWE compliance, ASHRAE energy audits, LEED, energy conservation/green MEP systems and equipment design, property condition assessments. Call us at 310-782-1410 or visit our website at www.mep-llc.com.