Many office towers are operating with lower occupancy than they had before the pandemic, but that has not necessarily reduced their energy use in the same way building owners expected.
In some cases, electricity demand remains surprisingly high despite fewer people working in the building each day. Heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, elevators, and digital systems still need to operate across large spaces, even when occupancy fluctuates throughout the week.
The challenge is consistency.
Traditional office buildings were designed around predictable schedules. Large numbers of workers arrived in the morning, occupied the building during standard business hours, and left in the evening. Energy systems were built around those routines.
Now, usage patterns are less stable.
Some offices are busiest in the middle of the week and far quieter on Mondays or Fridays. Certain floors may be heavily used while others remain mostly empty. This makes it harder to manage building systems efficiently, particularly in older towers where heating and cooling cannot easily be adjusted section by section.
There are also new technological demands.
Even when occupancy is lower, buildings rely more heavily on connected systems than they once did. Security infrastructure, digital access controls, cloud-connected devices, and increased video conferencing all contribute to electricity use.
Building operators are trying to adapt.
Some are investing in smarter energy management systems that allow lighting, ventilation, and climate control to respond more precisely to occupancy levels. Others are redesigning office layouts to concentrate activity into smaller areas, reducing the need to operate entire floors at full capacity.
These changes can improve efficiency, but they often require significant upgrades.
For owners of older buildings, the cost of retrofitting systems may compete with other priorities, especially in markets where office demand remains uncertain.
What is becoming clear is that reduced occupancy does not automatically translate into lower operating costs. Buildings still need to function reliably, even when daily usage is inconsistent.
As work patterns continue to evolve, office energy management is becoming less about maximising capacity and more about responding to variability.