# Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge Highlights Energy Efficiency

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/02/los-angeles-better-buildings-challenge/
- Published: 2014-02-04T13:04:23-05:00
- Author: greenguruguides

**Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge** efforts focused on cutting energy use
across millions of square feet of public and private buildings. The city pledged
to reduce energy intensity while using benchmarking and building upgrades to lower
operating costs.

## Los Angeles Targeted Large Buildings for Energy Savings

## Submitted by: LA Better Buildings Challenge

Posted: Feb 03, 2014 – 09:00 AM EST

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which show that the Canadian city has much less light being given off. Learn mor...
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Detroit from the air at night, with views of Windsor, Ontario across the river which
show that the Canadian city has much less light being given off. Learn mor…Read 
More
PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM RICHARDSON, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

So Los Angeles, California is showing off its’ leadership in the Department’s Better
Buildings Challenge. For that’s helping the city save on energy costs and cut greenhouse
gas emissions. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, Los Angeles has pledged to
reduce the energy intensity for 30 million square feet of city-owned and private
buildings by 20 percent by 2020.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan joined with Los 
Angeles’s Sustainability Chief, Matt Peterson recently toured the Los Angeles Central
Library, which has reduced its energy costs by 20 percent through the Better Buildings
Challenge.

“Energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective options to save businesses,
governments and homeowners money while creating jobs and protecting communities 
nationwide,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan.“
Through the Better Buildings Challenge, [cities](https://greenlivingguy.com/2022/02/exploring-the-best-green-cities-to-visit/)
like Los Angeles are committing to real change – breaking through barriers and achieving
tremendous energy savings.”

As part of the Better Buildings Challenge, Los Angeles is working to benchmark 250
of the city’s most energy-intensive facilities and develop a plan to improve building
performance by 2020. More than 25 owners of large commercial buildings, including
Transwestern, Kaiser Permanente of Southern California Kilroy Realty, and Children’s
Hospital of LA, have joined the Challenge and are reporting their results annually
to help others save money and energy.

Each year, the 500,000 square foot Los Angeles Central Library uses approximately
seven million kilowatt hours. That’s equivalent to the annual electricity consumption
of about 600 households. Through the Challenge, Los Angeles has retrofitted the 
library, including replacing an aging roof with a cool roof, updating the HVAC system
and replacing old lighting with new, energy efficient bulbs. As a result of these
upgrades, the library is on track to save about $175,000 in energy costs per year.

_“Los Angeles is one of the most energy efficient and economically competitive big
cities in the country,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “In partnership with
DOE, through the Better Buildings Challenge, the City, businesses, utilities and
the real estate community have come together to save energy and create economic 
opportunity for residents.”_

In 2011, President Obama launched the Better Buildings Challenge to catalyze revolutionary
[change](https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/09/huffington-post-green-story-insisting-exceptional-times-require-exceptional-leaders/)
in energy use and achieve record-breaking energy bill savings. More than 120 organizations–
including a diverse set of public and private sector partners from local governments,
school districts and universities to commercial real estate, healthcare and manufacturing–
are partnering with the Energy Department to achieve portfolio-wide energy savings
and share successful strategies that maximize efficiency. In addition, the Better
Buildings Challenge includes a network of Financial and Utility Allies to assist
partners in overcoming financial and data access barriers across the marketplace.

Better [Buildings Challenge partners are actively deploying energy efficiency](https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/01/pacific-leatherback-turtle-conservation-efforts/)
projects across their entire building portfolios and updating data on energy use
and energy savings, including more than 7,700 facilities to date. Of these, more
than 1,300 have reduced energy intensity by 20 percent or more, while another 2,100
have reduced energy intensity by at least 10 percent since their baseline years.
Over the first year of the Better Buildings Challenge, these partners have also 
completed more than 50 showcase projects that highlight innovative, cost-effective
energy saving strategies. Better Buildings Challenge Financial Allies have also 
extended more than $1.1 billion in private financing for energy efficiency improvements.

Source: [LA Better Buildings Challenge](https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/02/los-angeles-recognized-for-leadership-in-energy-efficiency-better-buildings-challenge/)

## Why Building Efficiency Matters

Large buildings can lock in energy costs for decades. Benchmarking helps owners 
identify underperforming properties, while retrofits can improve lighting, HVAC 
and controls without waiting for complete redevelopment.

For more efficiency coverage, see our [energy-efficiency savings guide](https://greenlivingguy.com/2025/08/energy-efficiency-saves-home-bills-by-lowering-costs/).

## Conclusion

Los Angeles used the Better Buildings Challenge to connect climate goals with practical
building upgrades. That approach showed how cities can reduce energy use while also
lowering operating costs.

Source: [U.S. Department of Energy — Better Buildings Solution Center](https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/).

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