SR297/1ES BEES Part 1: Final report - executive summary (2019)

Understanding how energy and water resources are used in non-residential buildings is key to improving the energy and water efficiency of New Zealand’s building stock. More-efficient buildings will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance business competitiveness. The Building Energy End-use Study (BEES) has taken the first step towards this by establishing where and how energy and water resources are used in non-residential buildings and what factors drive the use of these resources.

The BEES research started in 2007 and ran for 6 years, gathering information on energy and water use through carrying out surveys and monitoring of non-residential buildings. By analysing the information, it has been possible to answer key research questions about resource use in buildings including baseline estimates on the number of buildings, total energy use in New Zealand, average energy and water use intensity and water consumption amounts for the Auckland region.

The study had two main methods of data collection – a high-level survey of buildings and businesses and intensive detailed monitoring of individual premises.

This report is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 (SR297/1) provides an overview of the research with key results, discussion and conclusions. This is the executive summary to part 1.
• Part 2 (SR297/2) is a series of appendices to the final report that provide detail on the methodologies used to obtain the results and information created through this research.