Cost-Effective Upgrades
Learn what energy conservation measures could be most cost-effective based on the size and location of your building.
Go to the ToolWhy Upgrade?
Incorporating the right high-performance measures into your building can drive efficiency and cost savings while also increasing occupant productivity and improving health and satisfaction. In short, it’s just good business.
While building owners and tenants increasingly demand incorporation of sustainability in their facilities, they often struggle to identify high-performance improvements that can be performed within a certain budget or timeframe.
The Cost Effective Upgrades Tool
This tool is designed to help identify upgrades and energy conservation measures that can enhance your building’s sustainability. Get started by clicking the button above and selecting your building size and climate zone! If you’re curious about where the data for the tool comes from, visit our FAQ. To help with procurement, you can generate reports outlining each upgrade, including its economic benefits. This tool is just one way to educate yourself and others about the many opportunities to improve efficiency and cut costs.
Making the Most of Upgrades
Upgrade efforts should go deeper than requiring a certification or tracking energy bills. They should focus on many of the categories included in current sustainable building rating systems, such as:
certification. The Department of Energy has released a feasibility study on energy efficiency in tenant spaces, including a look at the costs and benefits of certain upgrades.Beyond energy conservation measures, DOE's Emissions Reduction Planning Framework
can help you develop an actionable plan that identifies solutions, prioritizes measures, and lays out a phased pathway to achieve deep emissions reductions. See DOE’s Better Buildings Decarbonization Resource Hub for this and other resources that can help to cost-effectively decarbonize buildings.