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Facts About Energy Use in Commercial and Industrial Facilities
- Combined number of commercial buildings (4.8 million) and industrial facilities (350,000) in the United States: over 5 million1
- Combined annual energy costs for U.S. commercial buildings ($107.9 billion)
and industrial facilities ($94.4 billion):
$202.3
billion2
- Portion of energy in buildings used inefficiently or unnecessarily:
30 percent3
- Combined percentage of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions generated by commercial buildings (17 percent) and industrial facilities (28 percent):
45 percent4
- Percentage of energy use reduction targeted by the ENERGY STAR Challenge: 10
percent5
- Amount of money that would be saved if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: $20 billion6
- Amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be reduced if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: equal to about 30 million vehicles7
- Number of registered automobiles in Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Texas combined:
about 30 million8
Global Energy Facts
- The approximate energy released in the burning of a wood match: 1 Btu9
- Total energy used in the U.S. each year: 99.89 quadrillion Btu10
- Portion of U.S. annual energy use created by the combustion of fossil fuels: 86
percent11
- Amount of global carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere in 2005: 6,000
million metric tons12
- U.S. contribution of global greenhouse gas emissions: about 20 percent13
- U.S. population relative to the world: 5 percent14
- Amount greenhouse gas emissions have increased between 1970 and 2004: 70
percent15
- Period of time in which 11 of the 12 warmest years on record have occurred: 1995 to
200616