On Wednesday, President Obama reminded us that “in America, innovation isn’t just how we change our lives. It’s how we make a living.” This rings especially true at Applied Materials as our livelihoods depend on changing lives through technology in big ways. We were encouraged to hear President Obama’s plans for the Better Buildings Initiative, focused on increasing high efficiency lighting, on-site renewable energy generation, insulation and coatings and advanced HVAC control technologies. At Applied Materials, we’re providing a map on how to get there and developing solutions in each of these categories.
Buildings consume 40% of all energy in the U.S., 72% of all electricity and 55% of all natural gas. In the U.S., we spend $350 billion on energy for buildings … and that number is growing. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that current trends in energy demand for buildings will stimulate about half of energy supply investments through 2030. If building site energy consumption in China and India grows to current U.S. levels, China’s and India's consumption will be about four and seven times greater than they are today.