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The authors review the current work on energy efficiency in Hong Kong and discuss the prescriptive and performance‐based approaches as well as looking at the obstacles and barriers in delivering energy efficiency to the marketplace. It is recognized that more research and development work needs to be done in the territory before comprehensive building energy codes can be introduced.

The authors conclude that there is scope for improvement in the operation of existing commercial buildings in Hong Kong and that the likely energy savings could be substantial. In a sub‐tropical climate HVAC was the largest elecricity consuming item accounting for 40–60% of the total consumption for the whole building, while lighting accounted for 20–30%. It was found that two office buildings were slightly over‐cooled during the cooling season and a no‐cost energy efficiency measure would be to raise the indoor air temperature.

Average annual electricity use per gross floor area is 236kWh/m2yr for offices and 366kWh/m2yr for hotels. HVAC and lighting account for 70–80% of total energy in fully air‐conditioned commercial buildings in Hong Kong and should be a priority for energy management programmes.

Nearly 1 million m2 of gross floor area is represented by the survey which identified four different building envelope designs. To enable judgements to be made on construction cost and time, a comparative study was carried out based on a 40‐storey generic office building.

The author emphasizes the importance of computer simulation as a design tool for more energy‐efficient building design. One of the useful aspects of this study is the detailed data collected which will be invaluable to design teams carrying out such predictions.