Lauren Riggs, LEED APManager, LEED Performance, U.S. Green Building Council

Editor's note: This post originally appeared on FacilitesNet.

In today's economy, every penny counts. And as building owners and facility managers know all too well, every penny adds up.

When the lights in your 30-story office building are left on an extra hour each day, or the brutal summer heat requires an extra blast of air conditioning, your energy consumption escalates and so does your utility bill.

That's precisely why building owners and facility managers are starting to "listen" to their buildings.