[Roughly 40%](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55199) of energy used in U.S. commercial buildings — including big-box stores, schools, grocery shops, offices, hospitals, and hotels — goes to heating and cooling them. Typically performing those functions are packaged heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units on rooftops. Think big white boxes on flat roofs.
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[Roughly 40%](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55199) of energy used in U.S. commercial buildings — including big-box stores, schools, grocery shops, offices, hospitals, and hotels — goes to heating and cooling them. Typically performing those functions are packaged heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units on rooftops. Think big white boxes on flat roofs.
The majority of those units in use today are gas-fired. Even though heat pumps are two to four times as efficient as gas systems, [less than 15 percent](https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/AcceleratorFactSheet.pdf) of the 6 million or so commercial buildings in the country used the electric option in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.