A recent study by Ceres, “Practicing Risk-Aware Electricity Regulation: What Every State Regulator Needs to Know,” concluded that the least cost and least risk for future energy resources is energy efficiency. Indeed, the lowest cost unit of energy is one that is not used.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), buildings are the largest single sector of energy consumption nationwide. Indeed, the building sector accounted for a whopping 41 percent of primary energy use in 2010. The buildings sector consumes approximately one-third more energy than either the industrial or transportation sectors. And since 60 percent of energy used in buildings is for thermal loads, some 24 percent of all energy used in the nation is for space heating, cooling, and water heating.