It’s a foregone conclusion that the size of someone’s office is a symbol. It’s also a given that a larger office requires more energy for lighting, and this lighting puts a higher load on the cooling system, not to mention the high cost of space conditioning itself. In other words, large offices are not very energy-efficient.
In fact, private offices are not energy-efficient at all, since more people can comfortably occupy a partitioned area than one with solid floor-to-ceiling walls. Fewer overhead lights get the job done more cheaply, and daylighting can be of benefit to a higher proportion of the office staff. Many types of occupations that demand a high level of communication between staff thrive in such an open environment, and from the perspective of the efficient use of human energy, the open office is also quite effective.
One example of a situation demanding a high level of interpersonal communication is a hospital. Nursing staff are among the designer’s most demanding clients, in their use of conditioned space. They place a premium not on space but on convenience: the fewer steps required to perform any given task, the better. This enhances efficiency and the ability to perform any given duty quickly and with a minimum of physical movement. Although this perspective is due in large part to the need to operate in emergency circumstances, it’s a sensible approach to the effective design of any occupied area.
Any businessperson knows that minimizing the distance between workstations means more than a smaller office area, lower rent, reduced air-conditioning costs, and lower maintenance expenses. It means fewer people can get the job done. Furthermore, they can get it done faster and better than if they were working in a larger space. All of this correlates to a reduction in energy usage since a considerable portion of the load on HVAC equipment is people. People represent the predominant latent (e.g., humidity) load of most spaces. The more people in a space, and the higher their level of activity, the more that must be spent to provide a comfortable environment.
This is not the kind of topic that lends itself to be considered as an energy-conservation project, though if the office area is already one of partitioned spaces, effective changes can be wrought to enhance the overall productivity of the staff. Still, any office environment can benefit from the application of the general principles of effective space usage.
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Excerpt from Energy Conservation Projects.