According to research cited in the article, what percentage of total electricity consumption do cooling systems account for in commercial buildings on average?
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Why your commercial HVAC bill keeps climbing
If your building runs its heating and cooling system on a fixed schedule that never changes, you are likely paying to condition empty space. Commercial buildings consume significant energy, and HVAC systems are one of the largest components of that consumption. According to a study of 432 commercial buildings, cooling systems alone account for an average of 9.5% of total electricity use. The problem is not your equipment—it is how you schedule it.
Smart thermostats solve this by automatically adjusting temperature setpoints based on occupancy, time of day, and even weather forecasts. Unlike basic programmable thermostats, they can learn your building's patterns and make precise adjustments without manual intervention. The key is knowing how to configure them for real savings.
What the research says about setback savings
The U.S. Department of Energy and industry studies show that adjusting your thermostat 7°F to 10°F for eight hours daily can yield energy savings of up to 10% on heating and cooling costs, according to UBX Systems. For businesses occupied 10 to 12 hours a day, five days a week, setting thermostats back 5 to 10 degrees during unoccupied hours can result in 20% to 40% energy savings, as reported by the Center for Energy and Environment.
The savings depend on two factors: the magnitude of the setback (how far you push the temperature) and the duration (how long you maintain it). Energy savings are approximately proportional to both. A deeper setback for longer periods produces greater savings.
Step-by-step: configure your smart thermostat schedule
Follow these steps to set up an effective commercial thermostat schedule:
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Map your actual occupancy. Document when your building is truly occupied versus when it sits empty. Include weekends, holidays, and irregular hours. Most commercial spaces are unoccupied 12 to 14 hours per weekday plus all weekend.
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Set your occupied setpoints. During occupied hours, maintain comfort with heating at 68–70°F and cooling at 75–78°F. These ranges balance comfort with efficiency.
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Configure setbacks. For unoccupied periods, lower heating setpoints by 7–10°F and raise cooling setpoints by 5–7°F. ASHRAE 90.1-2019 recommends a heating setback of 10°F below occupied setpoint and a cooling setback of 5°F above occupied setpoint, according to Verdius Energy.
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Set recovery times. Program the system to begin returning to occupied temperatures 30–60 minutes before people arrive. This accounts for thermal inertia—buildings retain heat or coolness, so you do not need to start recovery too early.
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Enable learning features. Smart thermostats with machine learning analyze usage patterns and environmental data to make automatic predictions and adjustments, as noted by Hayes Mechanical. Let the system learn your building's behavior over 2–4 weeks.
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Use geofencing if applicable. For buildings with variable occupancy, geofencing can detect when occupants leave and automatically adjust temperatures.
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Monitor and adjust. Review energy usage data monthly. Smart thermostats provide equipment use and temperature data you can track and manage, per ENERGY STAR.
Common mistakes that erase your savings
Even with a smart thermostat, these errors can eliminate your energy savings:
- Setting recovery too early. If your system starts heating or cooling two hours before occupancy, you lose the benefit of the setback period.
- Overriding schedules manually. Every time someone adjusts the thermostat, the system may revert to comfort mode and stay there.
- Ignoring zones. If your building has multiple zones with different occupancy patterns, a single schedule wastes energy in unoccupied areas.
- Forgetting holidays. Special occupancy days require schedule overrides. Smart thermostats can handle this automatically if configured properly.
- Not accounting for thermal mass. Buildings with high thermal inertia may need shorter setback durations to avoid uncomfortable recovery periods.
Maintenance and monitoring checklist
To sustain savings over time:
- Review thermostat schedules quarterly against actual occupancy
- Check for manual overrides and reset them
- Update holiday schedules annually
- Verify sensors are calibrated and reading accurately
- Monitor energy bills for unexpected increases
- Ensure firmware is updated for latest efficiency algorithms
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