President Obama has announced the availability of nearly $4 billion for energy upgrades to federal and private sector buildings over the next two years. The investments will not only save Americans billions in energy costs, but will also encourage energy independence and create thousands of jobs in the construction sector. Approximately $2 billion will be used to provide energy upgrades of federal buildings, and since the long-term energy savings will pay for the up-front costs, all of the upgrades will be done at no cost to tax payers. Federal buildings are not the only ones getting energy-saving upgrades; leaders in the private sector have committed to invest nearly $2 billion in energy efficiency projects. The upgrades are expecting to increase buildings’ performances by a minimum of 20% by the year 2020. Over the next decade, all of the energy efficient upgrades in the Federal and private sector buildings will reduce energy costs in American businesses by nearly $40 billion.

According to President Obama, “Upgrading the energy efficiency of America’s buildings is one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to save money… America is taking another big step towards the competitive, clean energy economy it will take to win the future.” Various types of business owners are realizing the cost savings they can achieve by having their existing facility retro-commissioned. Retro-commissioning is the process of analytically reviewing all aspects of a facility’s process, from air systems to HVAC controls, and enhancing the existing system. Buildings that are retro-commissioned have a higher energy optimization, and their owners realize a cost savings in their operational expenses, which ultimately pays for the initial cost.