Energy cost of building construction

The energy cost for the construction of new buildings is about 1.3 MBtu/ft 2 so the total U.S. annual energy cost of constructing new buildings is 5.1 quads, or one fifth the annual energy required to operate the existing stock of buildings, including residences. This analysis is based on broad SIC category analysis, and gaps exist in the knowledge. On an annual basis, steel in building construction represents 0.85 quad (16%), concrete only 0.05 quad (1%), and aluminum only 0.01 quad (0.25%).