Energy use in buildings

Philip Greenspun has an interesting post on energy usage in cities and buildings with tidbits like this one:

In the U.S., residential and commercial space accounts for 40 percent of our primary energy consumption; 38 percent of CO2 emissions are from operating buildings.

He also talks about his desire for smart buildings.

I really do hate going around turning off the lights so one of the things I want to do when I move into my new place is to re-wire it so that I can turn off all non-essential energy consuming devices from a switch by the door or by the bed. This should be a fun little home automation project :).