The architects and engineers who design skyscrapers have a wide range of ratios and equations to estimate the electricity and heat needed by a given building. All it takes is for them to make sure there are enough boilers and/or electric heating units in the basement to meet the heating+hot water needs of the building.
For many large buildings, the various lighting, communication, and plumbing systems, plus the occupants, generate more than enough heat. Even in winter they need to cool areas of the building. One efficient way to do this is to move heat from the core of the building to the exterior areas next to the skin where some heating is needed.
Because of the efficiencies in larger shared systems, a 40-story building with 240 condo units uses far less electricity than 240 houses.
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