Integrating Efficiency with Health in Commercial Buildings Post-Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in commercial office building occupancy and a heightened focus on disease transmission in buildings. Public health organizations and other experts have highlighted the importance of ventilation and filtration on particle spread. But we know less about how building managers implemented these recommendations and even less about how they plan to operate their buildings post-pandemic.

This study combines the results of a survey of Xcel Energy customers with a review of the current data around mechanical ventilation and filter use, along with energy analysis, to better understand current market trends and their impacts on energy use.

Project Manager: Maddie Koolbeck

Kevin Frost, Scott Hackel, Andrew Kotila, Molly Teske, and Joe Zhou all contributed to this report. We also want to thank all the interview respondents who took the time to inform this research.