A green building is an energy efficient building. Learn why it's important to operate a green building and how to get started.

1. Green Building: Manage Energy Efficiency
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Start Small, Work with an Expert
If you’re not familiar with ENERGY STAR, it’s a voluntary program run by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the climate
through superior energy efficiency.
According to ENERGY STAR, the average commercial building wastes thirty percent of the energy it
consumes. ENERGY STAR recommends commercial building operators start with simple changes to
reduce energy, such as making sure lights and air conditioning are off when no one’s around, and adjusting
temperature set points. So, it’s time to stop your plug loads (computers, water fountains, and appliances)
from pulling all nighters!
These seemingly small changes can reduce energy in your commercial building by 10 percent with little
effort, and at low or no cost.
ENERGY STAR also recommends you work with an expert product provider, like BOSS Controls, who can
help you save even more energy. BOSS provides intelligent and networked control, sensor and Internet of
Things (IoT) products to commercial buildings to automate and optimize energy efficiency, security, and
operational tasks. BOSS is where energy management meets micro-management.
The Green Building Revolution
A building can’t be green unless it’s an energy efficient
building – as if you didn’t know that! But what you
might not know is that buildings use energy by burning
fossil fuels – releasing harmful greenhouse gas
emissions that contribute to climate change. Green
buildings consume less energy and produce fewer
greenhouse gas emissions than average commercial
buildings.
If you’re not convinced green building is making an
immensely positive impact on the environment, just
read the facts: Green buildings have the capacity to
make a huge impact on a more sustainable future. In
an article out of the Holcim Foundation, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) said it estimates that “buildings in developed countries account for more than forty
percent of energy consumption over their lifetime (incorporating raw material production, construction,
operation, maintenance and decommissioning).”
And on top of this, for the first time in human history – 50 percent of the world’s population lives in urban
environments. Thus, sustainable construction of our commercial buildings is necessary to secure long-
term economic, social, and environmental viability.
Commercial buildings are sucking up high amounts of energy. Here’s what the U.S. Energy Information

2. Administration (EIA) has to say about the issue – “Commercial buildings consume 20% of U.S. energy and
are more than 30% inefficient on average.”
For this reason, commercial buildings are being designed and built to be sustainable. This increased trend
of green building will pay off for both building operators and the environment. The many facets of
sustainable construction include the design and management of buildings, materials performance,
construction technology and processes, energy and resource efficiency in building, operation and
maintenance, robust products and technologies, and many more.
However, just because your building is designed sustainably, doesn’t necessarily mean the operator and
employees are using best practices for energy efficiency. The building performance must be continually
optimized even as the building operations evolve over time.
Optimizing Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings
Smart buildings start right here with BOSS. We can
help commercial building operators manage their
building’s energy efficiency as easily as possible. And,
even if your facility wasn’t built as a “green building,”
we help you reduce energy consumption and costs
with our BOSS energy management system.
Our system is powered by Atmospheres™ software,
an easy to install, plug and play solution. The
Atmospheres™ software allows you to automate and
control all the plug loads in your commercial facility
from one interface, whether it’s your computer, iOS or
Android device.
Take control of and dramatically improve your
commercial building’s energy use today. Request a
demonstration of our products and learn more about
BOSS Commercial Solutions.