| Major fuel |
Major energy sources are electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat (district steam or district hot water). Although electricity is technically not a fuel, we kept the label Major fuel, rather than Major energy source, to help users compare the recent data with previous CBECS data. |
| Sum of major fuels |
The total of site electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat. |
| Electricity |
Most of the tables in the CBECS provide statistics for site electricity (not for primary electricity). When the term electricity is used alone, the reference is to site electricity. Tables C1 and C13 provide consumption statistics for both primary and site electricity. |
| Gross energy intensity |
The ratio of the total amount of energy consumed by a group of buildings to the total floorspace of those buildings, including buildings and floorspace where the energy source is not used. For example, in Table C5, data in the row category Education within the Principal building activity row category and in the column labeled Northeast under Energy intensity for sum of major fuels should be interpreted as "In 2018, all education buildings in the Northeast consumed an average of {value} thousand British thermal units (Btu) per square foot." |
| Conditional energy intensity |
The amount of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, or district heat used per square foot only in buildings using the specified energy source. For example, in Table C15, data in the row labeled Education within the Principal building activity row category and in the column labeled Northeast under Electricity energy intensity should be interpreted as "In 2018, education buildings in the Northeast that used electricity as an energy source used an average of {value} kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity per square foot." |
| Distribution of building-level intensities |
The amount of energy used per square foot, divided into three percentiles: 25th, median (50th), and 75th. In Table C14, for example, the row labeled Over 500,000 within the Building floorspace row category and in the column labeled 25th percentile under Distribution of building-level intensities should be interpreted as "In 2018, 25% of commercial buildings in the United States that were larger than 500,000 square feet used {value} kilowatthours (kWh) per square foot or less, and 75% of these buildings used more than {value} kWh of electricity per square foot." |
| Energy intensity |
Intensity is usually defined as gross energy intensity or conditional energy intensity in the title of the table. If the table title does not specify, energy intensity should be interpreted as conditional energy intensity. |
| All buildings |
The CBECS definition of all commercial buildings includes all roofed and walled structures whose principal activities are nonresidential, nonagricultural, and nonindustrial and that are larger than 1,000 square feet (about twice the size of a two-car garage). |
| Principal building activity |
This row category classifies the commercial activity that occupies the most floorspace in the building. Some building types are combined in the tables. For example, refrigerated and non-refrigerated warehouses were combined as Warehouse and storage, and skilled nursing care buildings are included in the Lodging category. See Description of Building Types for a full description of the principal building activity categories. |
| Census region and division |
These areas are the geographical areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. See the Census Regions and Divisions Map for a map of the four census regions and nine census divisions. |
| Climate zone |
The 2018 CBECS climate zones are based on groups of county-level climate zones as designated by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in Standard 169-2021, Climatic Data for Building Design Standards. See CBECS Maps for more information. We stopped using Building America climate regions (as we did in the 2012 CBECS) following discussions with data users. |
| Ownership and occupancy |
We slightly changed our question about owner occupancy between the 2012 and 2018 CBECS, which led to one change in the display of this row category. A note about the apparent growth in the number of federal buildings is also included. |
| Party responsible for operation of energy systems |
In 2012, this question asked about the party responsible for the operation and maintenance of the energy systems. We realized that because one entity may be responsible for operation and another for maintenance, they should not be combined in one question. For 2018, the question asked only about the party responsible for the operation of the energy systems. |
| Predominant exterior wall material and predominant roof material |
The 2018 CBECS no longer allowed for a response of No one major type. In 2012, when an interviewer administered all interviews, there were If volunteered options for Other and No one major type. In 2018, to accommodate the online version, Other appeared in the list, but we removed No one major type to prevent over-reporting. |
| Roof tilt |
This row category is new as a standalone category; in 2012, it was part of the Roof characteristics row category. |
| Cool roof characteristics |
Provides details about cool roof qualities. White or highly reflective coating or paint; White or highly reflective tiles or shingles; Aluminum coating; Ballasted roof system; Vegetated roof; Other; None |
| Renovations since 2000 |
In the 2012 CBECS, this row category was called Renovations in buildings constructed before 2008. |
| Energy sources |
This row category tabulates buildings using each of the following energy sources for any purpose during the reference year: Electricity; Natural gas; Fuel oil; District heat (district steam or district hot water); District chilled water; Propane; Wood; Coal; Solar; Other |
| Space-heating energy sources, Primary space-heating energy source, Cooling energy sources, Water-heating energy sources, Cooking energy sources |
These row categories tabulate buildings by energy sources used for the specified end use during the reference year. |
| Energy end uses |
This row category tabulates buildings in which some energy was used for the specific end uses (heating, air conditioning, water heating, cooking, manufacturing, and electricity generation) in the building during the reference year. For example, in Table B6 (Building size), the value in the 1,001 to 5,000 square feet column and the Buildings with cooking row should be interpreted as β{value} buildings between 1,001 and 5,000 square feet in size used some energy for cooking in 2018.β As another example, in Table C1, data in the Buildings with cooling row and in the Sum of major fuels column should interpreted as "Buildings with cooling consumed a total of {value} trillion Btu of the major fuels." Note that it does not represent the amount of energy specifically used for cooling; that value is found in Table E1. |
| Percentage lit when open |
Buildings that used electricity and reported being open at all were asked what percentage of the total square footage was lit when the building was normally open, and that response is categorized in this row category. In past CBECS, buildings that reported not being open at all (for example, vacant buildings) were not asked the lighting questions. We changed that sequence for the 2018 CBECS, asking buildings with no open hours βWhat percentage of the {value} square feet was usually lit?β However, for Percentage lit when open, such buildings are still included in the Building never open/electricity not used row, and their response is categorized in the Percentage lit during off hours row category. |
| Percentage lit during off hours |
Three scenarios involve percentage lit during off hours. |
| Heating equipment |
A comparison of the types of heating equipment reported between 2012 and 2018 reveals some notable differences. For example, more furnaces, boilers, and district heat were reported in 2018 than in 2012 and fewer packaged units. These changes are likely due more to questionnaire changes rather than to actual changes in the types of equipment being used in buildings. |
| Cooling equipment |
Cooling equipment reported from 2012 to 2018 also indicated some changes. More packaged units were reported in 2018 and fewer heat pumps and residential-type central air conditioners were reported. Like heating, these changes may be due to questionnaire changes rather than to actual changes in the types of equipment. |
| Office equipment |
Due to the evolving nature of office equipment, this row category has changed since the 2012 CBECS. |
| Separate computer areas |
The 2018 CBECS added a category for Server closet, which is reported here. We added this category to help prevent over-reporting of data centers. |
| HVAC features |
This row category was previously called HVAC conservation features, but we have expanded it to include more than just conservation-related equipment. |
| Electric vehicle (EV) charging |
This new row category provides information about whether any electric vehicle charging stations were associated with the building, either inside or outside the building. |