Established in 1978, the Energy Office tracks, monitors, and manages energy usage campus-wide to reduce energy costs; improve design, performance, and operation of buildings; and provide feedback on energy usage to building occupants. We continuously monitor the operations and maintenance of campus facilities and are in contact with Building Managers regarding their facilities’ operation and utility consumption.
UCB Energy Dashboards
Real-time and historical electricity, natural gas, and water use and solar production by buildings across campus.
Energy Savings
49% energy saved from fluorescent to LED lighting
Water Savings
99,000 Gallons of water saved per year by one autoclave modernization
Energy Use
On average, 49,000 Bay Area households are powered by electric use of UC Berkeley
Data and Reporting
Energy Data and Dashboards
Real-time and historical electricity, natural gas, and water use and solar production by buildings across campus.
The Energy Office installed building-level meters that track energy use in campus buildings. The Energy & Water Dashboard shows this real-time energy and water use of over 149 campus buildings. The dashboard also provides a visualization of historical energy and water use. We are also using integrated analytics to provide feedback from this data to help identify anomalies and address large system malfunctions.
Winter Curtailment Reports
2025-26 Holiday Curtailment Energy Savings
Summary
This year the UC Berkeley Campus curtailed buildings over the winter holiday for 12 days, from December 24th through January 4th. The Energy Office worked with the EMS, Stationary Engineers, Watch, HVAC and Electric Shops to curtail 55 buildings. In total, curtailment saved 781,657 kWh and 2,883,697 pounds of steam. Compared to the baseline, electric use was 13% lower and steam use was 11% lower (when normalized for weather). Even though the campus experiences the lowest electric rates of the year over winter break, curtailment saved the campus approximately $237,000 and 145 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Below are the detailed costs and energy savings associated with curtailment this year.
|
Electric (kWh) |
Steam (lbs)* | |
|---|---|---|
|
Pre-Curtailment Usage |
6,206,528 |
25,746,739 |
|
Curtailment Usage |
5,424,870 |
22,863,042 |
|
Savings |
781,657 |
2,883,697 |
|
% Savings |
12.6% |
11.2% |
*Weather normalized
|
Cost (Labor) |
$ 29,000 |
|---|---|
|
Savings |
$ 236,606 |
|
ROI |
816% |
Curtailment saved 145 metric tons of CO2 – the emissions of:
17.5 average US homes’ annual energy use or 1 railcar of coal!
View all curtailment reports, announcements, and past exemption lists
Other Reports
policy and standards
Energy Use Policy
UCBs Energy Use Policy, established in 2014, was developed to provide a local framework to support energy-efficient decisions. The policy provides guidance on how UC Berkeley manages its operations so that energy resources are used in the most sustainable manner possible while providing a safe and comfortable environment for teaching, research, and public service. The policy was amended in November 2020 and includes substantial updates to clarify and deepen energy efficiency opportunities in projects and align with Campus Building Department categories. There is also an expanded section on IT virtualization & centralization to improve efficiency and safety of both new and existing server locations.
Thank you for your interest and participation in building a better campus and bending the carbon emissions curve
For any questions, please reach out to energyoffice@berkeley.edu.
California Energy Commission Standards
projects
Clean Energy Campus
Within eight years, Berkeley plans to switch to a new clean and resilient energy system that will phase out fossil fuels and demonstrate cutting-edge technologies and creative financing. For decades, Berkeley has led the world in climate solution technology and policy research. Now, the campus will be powered by an energy system that sets the standard in sustainable, resilient infrastructure. If you want to learn more about this initiative, visit Berkeley Clean Energy Campus
Energy Efficiency Projects
The Energy Office manages and provides input to a variety of energy efficiency projects. Through these projects we strive to make the campus as energy efficient as possible, and meet or exceed the UC system’s goal of 2% reduction in energy use each year. Many of these projects focus on HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and lighting systems, since these systems are major contributors to energy usage in buildings. However, we also work on many other types of projects such as energy use of labs and IT equipment.
- ULT Freezer Rebate Program
- Energy Use Impact of ULT Freezers
- ENERGY STAR Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) freezers use significantly less electricity and produce about 1/3 the heat of non-energy-efficient freezers. The energy savings are greater when replacing older units. Savings come from reduced energy use by the new unit and additional reduction in energy used by heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC).
- Benefits
- Save energy and money - As of June 2025, 19 ULT freezers will result in annual savings of 122,500 kWh and $27,000
- Space Usage - The new freezers have more room/shelving
- Non-energy benefits - The program has made the freezers more affordable and improved research stability and confidence.
- Taking Action
- The Office of Sustainability and Energy Office has completed two rounds of an Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Freezer Rebate Program using funding from the Business Air Travel Carbon Mitigation Program and Energy Office. The program provided a one-time rebate to replace inefficient freezers on campus: $5,000 for those aged 10-19 years; $7,500 for those aged 20+ years. Rebates were provided to the participating department after the ENRGY STAR-rated replacement freezer had been installed and the older freezer had been decommissioned.
- Energy Use Impact of ULT Freezers
Services
Cooling Request Review for Campus Projects Impacting Utility Use
The Energy Office reviews plans for campus projects that impact utility (energy and water) use. This process encourages efficient design that will not increase building utility use and, if needed, informs VC Administration of the quantified estimate of utility increase. Please note that any proposed project needs to have "no-net increase" per UCB Energy Policy. The review will determine if the proposed project results in no-net increase in the building's metered utility use. For those projects that result in a net increase, offsets will be required to make up for the expected increase. Offsets include energy efficiency and/or water conservation measures or on-site renewable energy generation. If you are a project or building manager working on a project that will impact utility use, please fill out the Cooling Request Form
Other Resources
Our Team
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| Bruce Chamberlain | Ahmed Hassani | Kume Wolde | Amelia Wardle Stacey |
| Energy Manager | Energy Engineer | Energy Engineer | Energy Office Intern |
