Existing strategies for residential energy savings through physical renovation or motivating occupant energy conservation behavior can be costly and/or have transitory effects. Focusing on multi-family dwellings, an important subset of the urban residential sector, the authors propose an Energy Saving Alignment Strategy (ESAS) that has advantageous cost-effectiveness and a long-lasting influence. By aligning the distribution of residents' thermostat preferences with the indoor temperature, ESAS aims to maximize thermal comfort and, accordingly, energy savings in multi-family buildings where indoor temperatures vary between apartments as a function of apartment orientation and floor level.