Los Angeles Tops US Cities for Energy Star-Certified Buildings

For the fifth year in a row, Los Angeles is #1 among US cities for the number of Energy Star-certified buildings – 528.

It is followed by Washington DC with 462 buildings, Chicago with 353 buildings – growing on average 32% a year – and New York with 325 buildings.

There are now more than 20,000 Energy Star-certified buildings in the US, saving a total of $2.7 billion in annual utility bills and avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of over two million homes.

In 2012 alone, more than 8,200 buildings earned Energy Star certification.

Top 10 Cities for 2012

City	# Buildings	Square Footage (million sf)
Los Angeles	528	112.5
Washington DC	462	116.1
Chicago	353	130.4
New York	325	111.5
Atlanta	304	63.6
San Francisco	291	70.1
Houston	241	88.6
Dallas-Fort Worth	214	59.0
Phoenix	202	31.6
Boston	188	45.5

Here are the top 25 cities.

Of course, these cities are also adding LEED-certified buildings, and Washington DC tops that list for LEED square footage per capita. It will perform even better going forward, now that the city requires all buildings to measure and report on energy and water consumption.  New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Austin all require buildings to report on energy use. 

To earn Energy Star certification, commercial buildings must perform in the top 25% of comparable buildings nationwide, as verified by a professional engineer or a registered architect.

On average, certified buildings consume 35% less energy and greenhouse gas emissions. 

15 kinds of commercial buildings can earn Energy Star, including office buildings, K-12 schools, retail stores, hospitals, manufacturing plants, and houses of worship.

Launched in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency,  Energy Star is a market-based program that cuts greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.

Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year.

In addition to certifying commercial buildings, the Energy Star label is found on 1.4 million new homes and 65 different product categories, saving $230 billion on utility bills and preventing the release of over 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past 20 years.

You can search for Energy Star buildings here: