Only a fraction of the genes in a cell are expressed at any one time. The variety of gene expression profiles characteristic of different cell types arise because these cells have distinct sets of transcription regulators. Some of these regulators work to increase transcription, whereas others prevent or suppress it.
The regulation of gene expression conserves energy and space. It is more energy efficient to turn on the genes only when they are required. In addition, only expressing a subset of genes in each cell saves space because DNA must be unwound from its tightly coiled structure to transcribe and translate the DNA.