Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey Initial Results Released by U.S. EIA

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has posted the preliminary results from its Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey. U.S. commercial buildings totaled 5.6 million with 87.4 billion square feet of floorspace in 2012, up 14 percent and 22 percent, respectively, from 2003.

According to survey results, lodging, education and healthcare are the largest buildings, on average. The healthcare category’s average is greatly affected by the size of inpatient healthcare buildings (i.e., hospitals), which have an average size of 247,700 square feet per building, compared to outpatient healthcare buildings, which have an average size of 12,100 square feet.

Buildings over 100,000 square feet make up only about 2 percent of total buildings, but account for about 35 percent of total floorspace.

The South census region, the most populous of the four census regions, has the largest percentage of commercial buildings and commercial floorspace, with about 40 percent of both total buildings and floorspace. The Midwest and West regions each account for more than one-fifth of commercial buildings and floorspace.

The size, use, vintage and geographic region of a building are among the key determinants that influence its energy use. Subsequent releases will show more detailed characteristics and crosstabulations among key categories. This is the first release of many reports and data releases expected for the 2012 CBECS; the preliminary data provides a first look at the building stock and the attributes that drive commercial energy use.

The full report can be viewed on EIA’s website at www.eia.gov.