The holiday season brings celebration, warmth, and connection, but it also brings operational challenges for building teams. Energy use climbs as temperatures drop, occupancy patterns can shift without warning, and year-end reporting often lands at the busiest moment of the year.
A little preparation can go a long way. Here’s your Atrius Holiday Readiness Checklist to help ensure your buildings stay efficient, resilient, and ready for 2026.
Atrius Holiday Readiness Checklist
1. Tune Up Before You Power Down
Treat early winter as your building’s seasonal wellness check. Before holiday schedules shift, review and optimize system settings so they match how your spaces will actually be used.
Tune-up areas to review:
- HVAC schedules and setback ranges
- Lighting automation and daylighting controls
- Occupancy sensors and space schedules
- Thermostats, dampers, and air-handling equipment
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that proper HVAC maintenance and schedule optimization can improve energy efficiency by 10–20%, especially during high-demand seasons.
A short system tune-up now can prevent unnecessary energy consumption while teams are out of office on holiday.
2. Keep an Eye on Energy Spikes (and Standby Loads)
Holiday schedules often bring unexpected energy use—special events, off-hour staff, temporary occupants, late-night cleaning, or systems still running on old overrides. Add to that the ‘phantom’ or standby loads—devices quietly consuming energy even when no one’s around.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that standby power accounts for 5–10% of electricity use in commercial buildings.
What to watch:
- HVAC overrides left running
- Lighting in unoccupied spaces
- Plug loads from appliances, decorations, and office equipment
- Server rooms or equipment rooms drifting from normal baselines
Real-time monitoring can help catch these spikes early—before they appear on January’s utility bill.
3. Keep Your Data Clean, Centralized, and Real-Time
As the year winds down, energy reporting, budget planning, and operational reviews become top priorities. None of that is easy when data is siloed, inconsistent, or manually collected.
Common challenges include:
- Missing utility data
- Inconsistent meter readings
- Limited ability to compare year-over-year trends
- Delayed insights into anomalies or spikes
Research from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that buildings using ongoing energy monitoring see 2–10% annual savings by identifying inefficiencies earlier.
Clean, real-time data and insight give you confidence in your decisions, even when winter consumption spikes unpredictably.
4. Track Sustainability All Season Long
No need to scramble for year-end sustainability reporting. Automated carbon tracking throughout the year ensures your emissions reporting is accurate and reliable.
Many organizations rely on established emissions factors from:
Accurate, automated sustainability data helps teams stay audit ready and transparent with stakeholders during the busiest time of the year.
5. Prepare for Winter Weather and Build Predictive Resilience
Freezing temperatures, winter storms, and rapid weather swings can strain building systems. Many winter issues aren’t caused by equipment failure but by lack of visibility into how systems perform under stress.
Winter readiness must-haves:
- Preventive maintenance before the first freeze
- Freeze protection sequences for vulnerable zones
- Weather-driven HVAC adjustments
- Envelope checks (windows, insulation, seals)
- Verified performance data for critical equipment
Research published in Energy and Buildings found that sensor-driven or predictive maintenance strategies significantly reduce weather-related disruptions and extend equipment life.
The more you see, the better you can adapt.
Make 2026 the Year Your Building Gets Smarter and Greener
With the right tools, each step in this checklist—from energy monitoring to carbon tracking—becomes easier and more effective.
Atrius Energy, Atrius Sustainability, Atrius Facilities and Distech Controls’ Resense™ Move can help make 2026 the year your building gets smarter and greener:
- Monitor and optimize building and energy performance
- Detect anomalies before they become costly issues
- Track carbon emissions using industry-standard data sources
- Capture occupancy and environmental data to optimize occupant comfort, operational efficiency, and space use
- Improve resilience, readiness, and reporting even during peak winter months
If you’re ready to make your buildings smarter, greener, and better prepared for 2026, Atrius and Distech Controls, part of Acuity, are ready to help.
Contact our experts to see how you can start checking off your list this holiday season!
Wishing you a smarter, safer, greener holiday season from Atrius.
