Dallas has made the rankings on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of the top cities with Energy Star-certified buildings.
The EPA’s annual Top Cities list shows which metro areas were home to the most Energy Star-certified buildings in the previous year.
“Way to go Dallas. No. 8 of 2021 Top Energy Star Cities! Doing our part to save energy consumption and build a greener Dallas,” Dallas City Councilman Omar Narvaez wrote on Twitter.
The top three cities this year are Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, according to a press release by Energy Star.
Dallas joins Houston on the list as the only two Texas cities in the top 10, the Energy Star rankings reveal.
In the Energy Star rankings, it says that Dallas has 194 Energy Star-certified buildings, with cost savings totaling $32 million.
There is 51.5 million square feet total of Energy Star-certified space in those buildings, which is equivalent to the annual electricity use of 33,000 homes, as stated in the explanation of rankings.
A Yahoo article says the list matters at this time because commercial and multifamily buildings are a big source of energy demand and carbon emissions.
Energy Star and the Department of Energy run this program together, an article by Yahoo explained.
The certification for Energy Star buildings is based on a single year of measured energy performance, the rankings explain.
The rankings say nationwide, these buildings are considered to be more energy efficient than 75% of similar buildings and they use an average of 35% less energy and 35% less greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Star certification is valid for one year before the buildings have to re-certify.
Since 1999, close to 38,000 different buildings have earned an Energy Star certification. These include the Empire State Building, schools, retail buildings and other locations. In total, Energy Star says that these buildings have saved more than $5 billion on energy bills.