Commercial, Energy Efficiency  -  November 21, 2018

Smart buildings drive U.S. investment

Results of the 2018 Energy Efficiency Indicator survey revealed that building controls improvements are the most popular investment for the next 12 months among U.S. organizations, cited by 68% of respondents. Building system integration increased by 23% as an investment choice in the past year, the largest jump of any measure in the survey

The survey of nearly 2,000 facility and energy management executives from 20 countries, conducted by Johnson Controls, also showed that 57% of U.S. companies plan to increase their investment in energy efficiency in the next year. Among US. respondents, 19% have already achieved green building certification for at least one of their facilities, with 53% planning to do so in the future. Additionally, 44% of U.S. respondents said they would pay a premium to lease space in a certified green building.

“Organizations are more interested than ever in leveraging energy efficiency, energy storage and distributed generation technologies to deliver smarter, safer and more sustainable buildings,” said Clay Nesler, vice president, Global Sustainability, Johnson Controls, in a statement. “U.S. organizations are especially bullish about the future impact of systems interoperability, systems integration, and cybersecurity technologies, leading all other countries.”

The statement noted that organizations identify greenhouse gas footprint reduction, energy cost savings, energy security, and enhanced reputation as key drivers of investment fueling growth in green, net-zero energy and resilient buildings.