Midpoint Results for UNC Chapel Hill in EPA's National Building Competition

EPA’s Battle of the Buildings fights energy waste

On Nov. 7, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR program marked the midpoint of its 2012 National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. In the first six months of the competition alone, the competitors together have saved more than $37 million on utility bills and prevented 130,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions – that’s equal to the electricity used by 16,000 homes annually.

Teams from more than 3,200 buildings around the country are going head-to-head in this year’s ENERGY STAR National Building Competition to see who can reduce their energy use the most. The building with the largest percentage reduction in energy use, adjusted for weather and the size of the building, will be recognized as the winner in November.

Up to the midpoint, UNC Chapel Hill has seen a reduction in energy consumption of 9% at Tarrson Hall, 14% at NC AHEC Bldg, and 15% at Neurosciences Research Bldg. This is a cumulative savings of $505,918 and a prevention of 1124 metric tons of CO₂ emissions!!

According to EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and energy use at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. On average, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere each year.

For complete midpoint results for all competitors, visit http://www.energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings