The electricity use characteristics of 20 air conditioned office buildings in the public sector in subtropical Hong Kong were investigated. Monthly electricity consumption data were gathered and analysed. The annual electricity use per unit gross floor area ranged from 163 to 389 kW h/m(2), with a mean of 270 kWh/m(2). Detailed energy audits and site surveys were conducted to obtain a breakdown of the energy use. The percentage consumption for the four major electricity end users, namely heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting, electrical equipment and lifts and escalators were 47.5%, 27.4%, 21.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Regression techniques were used to correlate the monthly electricity use with the design and climatic variables. This paper presents the work and discusses the energy use implications. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.