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ORIGINAL ANALYSIS · 2024 EWRB DATA · PUBLISHED OCTOBER 27, 2026
Ontario building energy benchmarks: how much energy large buildings use, by type
In 2024, the median large Ontario office used 20.9 ekWh per sq ft (0.81 GJ/m²) of weather-normalized site energy, and the median multi-unit residential building used 20.4 ekWh per sq ft (0.79 GJ/m²). These figures come from our analysis of all 6,740 buildings in the Province of Ontario's 2024 Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) open data.
Median energy use by building type
Grocery stores use nearly four times the energy per square foot of a distribution centre. Within each type, the spread is wide: the middle half of buildings (bar) often spans 30% or more.
The full table
| Building type | Buildings reported | Median EUI (ekWh/ft²) | Middle half (ekWh/ft²) | Median EUI (GJ/m²) | Median GHG (kg CO₂e/m²) | Median ENERGY STAR score | Savings to reach median* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution centre | 337 | 15.0 | 11.5 to 20.5 | 0.58 | 18.2 | 64 | 27% |
| Warehouse (non-refrigerated) | 290 | 16.4 | 12.7 to 23.2 | 0.63 | 19.3 | 48 | 30% |
| Manufacturing and industrial | 444 | 19.4 | 13.9 to 35.0 | 0.75 | 22.1 | – | 45% |
| Multi-unit residential | 3,306 | 20.4 | 15.5 to 25.2 | 0.79 | 25.7 | 57 | 19% |
| Office | 697 | 20.9 | 17.2 to 26.6 | 0.81 | 19.5 | 78 | 21% |
| Retail store | 313 | 22.4 | 18.8 to 32.5 | 0.87 | 21.3 | 64 | 31% |
| Senior living | 128 | 26.3 | 21.3 to 32.0 | 1.02 | 30.2 | 74 | 18% |
| Strip mall | 219 | 34.4 | 26.9 to 47.0 | 1.33 | 34.3 | – | 27% |
| Supermarket and grocery | 72 | 57.6 | 52.7 to 62.6 | 2.23 | 53.8 | 76 | 8% |
*How much less energy a building at the 75th percentile would use if it performed at the median. EUI is weather-normalized site energy use intensity. ENERGY STAR scores are only calculated for some property types (– where fewer than 30 buildings had one).
Five findings
- Half the reporting buildings are residential. 3,306 of 6,740 buildings (49%) are multi-unit residential: condominiums, rental apartments and co-ops.
- The less efficient quarter of each type has a lot to gain. A building at the 75th percentile would use 19% less energy at the median if it were multi-unit residential, 21% for offices, 30% for warehouses and 31% for retail stores.
- Toronto's apartment buildings use the most. The median Toronto multi-unit residential building used 22.8 ekWh/ft², against 20.0 in York Region and 16.0 in Halton Region.
- ENERGY STAR scores are middling. Of 4,548 buildings with a score, the median is 63 out of 100, and about 37% score 75 or higher, the level needed to apply for ENERGY STAR certification.
- Data quality is uneven. Only 3,164 of 6,740 reports (47%) record that Portfolio Manager's data quality checker was run. Missing meters and wrong floor areas distort scores, which matters most where verification applies.
By region
Median weather-normalized site EUI, ekWh per sq ft, with the number of buildings in brackets. Regions with fewer than 20 buildings of a type are not shown.
| Region | Multi-unit residential | Office | Distribution centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Toronto | 22.8 (1,486) | 21.3 (334) | 17.4 (42) |
| York Region | 20.0 (133) | 19.7 (44) | 16.8 (35) |
| Peel Region | 22.3 (225) | 19.8 (97) | 14.8 (123) |
| Durham Region | 16.1 (45) | – | – |
| Halton Region | 16.0 (147) | 18.2 (32) | 12.8 (25) |
| Waterloo Region | 15.0 (95) | – | – |
| Hamilton | 20.3 (54) | – | – |
| Ottawa | 19.1 (298) | 21.6 (85) | – |
| Rest of Ontario | 15.7 (434) | – | 13.3 (22) |
Regions are assigned from the city each owner reported. "City of Toronto" includes North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, East York and York.
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Get a free benchmarkHow we did it
- Source: Government of Ontario, Energy and water usage of large buildings in Ontario, 2024 data (January 1 to December 31, 2024), Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Building type is Portfolio Manager's calculated primary property type.
- Energy use intensity is weather-normalized site EUI as reported. Values of zero or below were excluded, and the top and bottom 1% of each type were trimmed to remove obvious reporting errors.
- Statistics are shown for types with enough buildings; "Buildings reported" counts all reports of that type.
- The data is self-reported and not cleansed by the Province, and may contain errors.
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