Reducing electricity consumption in multi-tenant commercial buildings: The impact of behavioural change

Pressure to conserve energy in commercial buildings is increasing in order to meet nationwide greenhouse gas reduction targets. In the commercial building sector, tenants often receive yearly electricity bills based on their occupied floor area and not actual electricity consumption. This results in diffused responsibility and no incentive to curtail electricity consumption. In this thesis, two office towers in Eastern Ontario installed submeters to accurately bill tenants for their electricity use. This study uses a competition, in-person tenant meetings and suite walkthroughs and submetering paired with data measurement and verification to assess the effect of the interventions on energy use behaviour. Results demonstrate that commercial tenant electricity use, between tenants, is highly variable; that tenant loads are lower than ASHRAE design values; and, that tenant plug loads are not fully shut off at night. The project concludes, 15 months after implementation, that submetering does result in tenant electricity reductions.