Industry and Business, Productivity and Energy Efficiency In
Improving productivity is one of the central concerns of businesses. In buildings, energy-efficient technologiesand design strategies can improve labor productivity (output of goods and services per hour worked) far in excess of the improvement in energy productivity (output per unit energy consumed). Similarly, in manufacturing, energy efficiency can improve total factor productivity (product output as a function of all labor, capital, energy, and materials consumed in its production) far in excess of the improvement in energy productivity.
Office Productivity and Energy Efficiency
Offices and buildings are not typically designed to minimize either energy use or labor costs (by maximizing worker productivity). Almost everyone involved in building construction—such as the developer, architects, and engineers—is rewarded by the ability to minimize the initial cost of a building, as opposed to its life-cycle cost. Moreover, the designers are rarely the ones who will be paying the energy bill or the salaries of the people working in the building. The missed opportunity is revealed by the total life-cycle costs of a building (Table 1).
A systematic approach to energy-efficient design can cost-effectively cut energy costs by 25 percent to 50 percent, as has been documented in both new construction and retrofit.
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