Many of our current national concerns are linked to the quality of our built environment.sEnergy use in buildings accounts for almost 40% of total U.S. consumption, a muchshigher fraction of U.S. electricity use, and requires expenditures of $140 billion/year.sAlthough we have made significant advances since the energy shocks of the early 1970s, ifswe compare our energy use to other industrialized nations we find that much of oursenergy consumption today is still unnecessarily wasteful. Energy waste has other unfortunateseconomic and environmental consequences. It diverts scarce economic capital tospay fuel bills or to invest in new energy supply infrastructure and it contributes directlysto serious long-term adverse environmental effects such as global warming due to CO2semissions.

Substantial energy reductions can be achieved in the building sector. However, thisswill require the concerted action of tens of thousands of individual designers and decisionsmakers, rather than a small number of centralized actions. It is clear that this can besachieved only if each decision maker is well informed, well equipped with proper tools tossupport the design process, and is strongly motivated to take effective action. Fortunatelysthere are other sound reasons to pursue such strategies. Building design issuessthat influence energy use also affect the habitability of buildings. Many energy-relatedselements of the work environment (e.g. air quality, thermal and visual comfort) can raisesor lower the level of satisfaction and productivity in our workplaces. In the increasinglyscompetitive global markets, the resourcefulness and productivity of our workforce issimportant.