Release date: April 2015

Revised date: May 2016

All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All buildings 5,557 570 1,099 1,666 2,222 87,093 3,925 12,628 34,814 35,726

Building floorspace (square feet)

1,001 to 5,000 2,777 380 564 638 1,196 8,041 963 1,680 1,924 3,474

5,001 to 10,000 1,229 117 259 418 436 8,900 810 1,879 3,060 3,151

10,001 to 25,000 884 53 182 331 317 14,105 885 2,824 5,326 5,070

25,001 to 50,000 332 Q 54 126 141 11,917 Q 1,885 4,519 5,071

50,001 to 100,000 199 Q 29 92 72 13,918 Q 1,956 6,445 5,043

100,001 to 200,000 90 Q 8 40 41 12,415 Q 1,141 5,539 5,560

200,001 to 500,000 38 Q 3 18 16 10,724 Q 837 5,220 4,552

Over 500,000 8 Q Q 3 4 7,074 Q Q 2,781 3,806

Principal building activity

Education 389 N 30 126 233 12,239 N 530 5,777 5,932

Food sales 177 N Q 54 104 1,252 N Q 349 815

Food service 380 N 57 104 219 1,819 N 275 596 949

Health care 157 N Q 68 73 4,155 N Q 1,695 2,330

Inpatient 10 N Q 3 7 2,374 N Q 958 1,392

Outpatient 147 N Q 65 67 1,781 N Q 737 938

Lodging 158 Q 51 47 60 5,826 Q 1,059 2,596 2,163

Mercantile 602 Q 73 275 251 11,330 Q 695 6,509 4,116

Retail (other than mall) 438 Q 65 120 249 5,439 Q 431 1,322 3,678

Enclosed and strip malls 164 N Q 155 Q 5,890 N Q 5,188 438

Office 1,012 N 227 399 386 15,952 N 1,732 6,723 7,497

Public assembly 352 Q 84 120 135 5,559 Q 728 2,699 2,093

Public order and safety 84 Q Q 24 32 1,440 Q Q 578 650

Religious worship 412 Q 101 146 163 4,557 Q 1,665 1,654 1,236

Service 619 Q 121 148 311 4,630 Q 813 1,240 2,304

Warehouse and storage 796 233 239 126 197 13,077 1,016 3,750 3,431 4,881

Other 125 Q 32 28 53 2,002 Q 323 900 708

Vacant 296 260 30 Q Q 3,256 2,479 656 Q Q

Year constructed

Before 1920 362 47 117 112 86 3,983 335 1,278 1,529 841

1920 to 1945 488 59 120 132 178 6,025 376 884 2,193 2,572

1946 to 1959 599 78 130 183 208 7,381 321 1,351 3,215 2,494

1960 to 1969 639 42 123 217 258 10,362 329 1,266 4,594 4,174

1970 to 1979 684 60 124 232 268 10,846 539 1,313 4,445 4,549

1980 to 1989 915 88 179 249 399 15,230 563 2,222 6,151 6,294

1990 to 1999 845 115 120 223 387 13,803 1,002 1,395 4,726 6,680

2000 to 2003 375 Q 70 115 164 7,215 Q 1,008 3,399 2,683

2004 to 2007 347 Q 65 111 143 6,524 Q 1,057 2,520 2,801

2008 to 2012 303 Q 52 92 130 5,723 Q 854 2,043 2,637

Number of buildings (thousand) Total floorspace (million square feet)

Table B36. Percent of floorspace lit when open, number of buildings and floorspace, 2012
All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All buildings 5,557 570 1,099 1,666 2,222 87,093 3,925 12,628 34,814 35,726

Number of buildings (thousand) Total floorspace (million square feet)

Table B36. Percent of floorspace lit when open, number of buildings and floorspace, 2012

Census region and division

Northeast 805 68 170 259 308 15,534 480 2,097 6,288 6,670

New England 302 Q 55 115 98 4,302 Q 677 2,099 1,286

Middle Atlantic 504 34 115 145 210 11,232 240 1,420 4,189 5,384

Midwest 1,237 136 292 382 427 18,919 851 2,870 7,932 7,266

East North Central 735 67 171 245 252 12,742 491 1,840 5,616 4,794

West North Central 502 69 121 137 175 6,178 360 1,030 2,315 2,472

South 2,247 242 379 614 1,011 34,279 1,832 4,755 13,288 14,405

South Atlantic 1,091 101 184 319 486 17,981 588 2,375 7,284 7,734

East South Central 370 28 60 80 201 4,904 Q 817 1,665 2,233

West South Central 786 112 135 215 324 11,394 1,055 1,562 4,339 4,438

West 1,267 123 258 411 476 18,360 761 2,907 7,307 7,385

Mountain 338 52 57 109 121 4,981 314 541 1,847 2,279

Pacific 929 71 201 302 355 13,379 447 2,366 5,460 5,107

Climate region2

Very cold/Cold 2,031 230 449 642 710 31,898 1,479 4,637 13,284 12,498

Mixed-humid 1,743 169 300 494 781 27,873 846 3,702 10,873 12,453

Mixed-dry/Hot-dry 837 67 186 248 336 12,037 531 2,225 4,849 4,432

Hot-humid 799 89 134 229 347 12,831 993 1,689 4,790 5,359

Marine 147 Q 29 53 48 2,454 Q 377 1,018 984

Number of floors

One 3,836 472 647 1,042 1,675 39,809 2,814 5,680 14,604 16,711

Two 1,158 72 301 399 386 20,206 542 3,641 7,751 8,271

Three 374 Q 110 144 99 8,140 Q 1,600 3,465 2,918

Four to nine 177 5 41 74 56 13,535 368 1,571 6,414 5,181

Ten or more 13 Q Q 7 5 5,404 Q Q 2,579 2,644

Number of workers (main shift)

Fewer than 5 2,892 565 754 616 957 17,751 3,866 5,292 4,069 4,524

5 to 9 1,085 Q 201 372 508 8,973 Q 2,241 3,117 3,567

10 to 19 731 Q 83 284 364 9,623 Q 1,545 3,883 4,186

20 to 49 513 Q 45 234 233 14,514 Q 1,750 6,751 6,011

50 to 99 206 N 12 103 90 13,476 N 908 6,773 5,795

100 to 249 93 N 3 44 46 10,941 N 518 5,492 4,932

250 or more 37 N 1 13 23 11,815 N 375 4,729 6,711

Weekly operating hours

Fewer than 40 1,149 389 216 223 321 8,220 3,077 1,436 1,745 1,962

40 to 48 1,346 Q 352 435 528 15,828 Q 3,438 6,579 5,676

49 to 60 1,244 Q 217 419 587 20,529 Q 2,849 7,798 9,754

61 to 84 764 Q 102 292 337 15,867 Q 1,643 8,185 5,927

85 to 167 479 Q 60 158 239 9,395 Q 928 3,748 4,656

Open continuously 575 77 151 138 209 17,253 409 2,335 6,758 7,752
All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All buildings 5,557 570 1,099 1,666 2,222 87,093 3,925 12,628 34,814 35,726

Number of buildings (thousand) Total floorspace (million square feet)

Table B36. Percent of floorspace lit when open, number of buildings and floorspace, 2012

Energy sources

(more than one may apply)

Electricity 5,234 247 1,099 1,666 2,222 84,869 1,700 12,628 34,814 35,726

Natural gas 2,933 55 562 1,051 1,265 58,725 581 7,333 25,435 25,376

Fuel oil 467 Q 93 155 208 20,200 Q 1,820 8,903 9,351

District heat 48 Q 8 18 21 5,964 Q 489 2,799 2,567

District chilled water 54 Q Q 21 24 4,608 Q Q 2,214 1,976

Propane 510 Q 112 155 224 7,706 Q 1,231 2,997 3,410

Other 172 Q 45 53 69 3,826 Q 487 1,608 1,689

Energy end uses

(more than one may apply)

Buildings with space heating 4,722 112 963 1,588 2,059 80,078 935 11,367 33,572 34,204

Buildings with cooling 4,461 64 902 1,556 1,939 79,294 602 10,941 33,775 33,976

Buildings with water heating 4,423 57 900 1,538 1,927 79,015 602 10,877 33,513 34,023

Buildings with cooking 1,589 Q 311 567 687 38,546 Q 3,696 17,766 16,991

Buildings with manufacturing 259 Q 63 84 106 5,078 Q 870 2,038 2,137

Buildings with electricity

generation 410 Q 65 157 183 25,642 Q 1,811 11,756 12,007

Percent of floorspace heated

Not heated 835 458 136 78 163 7,015 2,990 1,261 1,242 1,522

1 to 50 697 31 325 144 197 10,130 274 4,056 2,861 2,939

51 to 99 727 Q 138 405 169 14,650 Q 1,618 9,145 3,807

100 3,298 67 500 1,039 1,692 55,298 581 5,693 21,566 27,458

Percent of floorspace cooled

Not cooled 1,096 506 196 111 283 7,799 3,323 1,688 1,039 1,750

1 to 50 1,173 Q 451 294 405 18,891 Q 5,274 6,153 7,217

51 to 99 897 Q 135 517 235 22,728 Q 1,921 14,102 6,558

100 2,391 32 316 744 1,298 37,676 208 3,746 13,519 20,202

Percent lit during off hours

Zero 2,489 193 620 610 1,066 24,746 1,246 5,450 6,900 11,150

1 to 50 2,441 38 449 980 973 50,753 394 6,702 24,449 19,207

51 to 100 202 Q Q 57 141 6,926 Q Q 2,942 3,908

Building always open with 

no "off hours" 102 Q 26 19 41 2,443 Q 406 523 1,461

Electricity not used 323 323 N N N 2,225 2,225 N N N

Lighting equipment types

(more than one may apply)

Incandescent 1,826 Q 391 724 699 38,406 Q 4,867 19,106 14,283

Standard fluorescent 4,649 30 985 1,570 2,065 80,081 335 11,798 33,816 34,132

Compact fluorescent 2,302 Q 478 920 895 53,816 Q 6,202 25,376 22,087

High-intensity discharge (HID) 525 Q 78 227 220 23,396 Q 2,418 11,003 9,929

Halogen 905 Q 165 413 326 28,059 Q 2,884 15,045 10,084

LED 473 Q 76 222 174 22,071 Q 1,937 11,847 8,278

Other 10 N Q Q Q 446 N Q Q Q
All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All

buildings

Not lit 

when 

open1

1 to 50

percent

lit

51 to 99

percent

lit 

100 

percent

lit

All buildings 5,557 570 1,099 1,666 2,222 87,093 3,925 12,628 34,814 35,726

Number of buildings (thousand) Total floorspace (million square feet)

Table B36. Percent of floorspace lit when open, number of buildings and floorspace, 2012

Window and interior lighting 

features (more than one may

apply)

Multipaned windows 3,012 127 561 1,069 1,255 60,362 1,330 7,447 26,198 25,386

Tinted window glass 1,875 61 310 708 796 45,025 1,101 5,092 20,167 18,666

Reflective window glass 549 Q 102 214 223 15,908 Q 1,736 7,595 6,406

External overhangs or awnings 1,867 58 326 742 741 32,188 412 3,938 15,506 12,332

Skylights or atriums 591 19 113 258 202 22,261 451 2,214 11,195 8,401

Light scheduling 918 Q 136 417 361 30,263 Q 2,559 15,354 12,299

Occupancy sensors 813 Q 107 400 303 35,871 Q 3,557 17,580 14,648

Multi-level lighting or dimming 349 Q 67 173 109 14,534 Q 1,336 7,825 5,349

Daylight harvesting 125 Q 22 52 49 6,114 Q 614 2,961 2,524

Demand responsive lighting 176 N 49 80 47 4,738 N 656 2,791 1,291

Building automation system (BAS) for 

lighting3 208 Q 11 106 90 12,068 Q 542 6,670 4,832

Equipment usage reduced when 

building not in full use 

(more than one may apply)

Heating 3,699 68 743 1,300 1,588 63,167 679 8,662 27,700 26,127

Cooling 3,517 48 693 1,284 1,491 62,516 498 8,345 27,927 25,746

Lighting 4,757 N 995 1,631 2,131 78,594 N 11,135 33,897 33,563

 1Not lit when open includes buildings that were zero percent lit when open, buildings that were never open, and buildings that did not use any electricity. Some 

buildings that were never open, such as vacant buildings, still used some lighting.

 2

These climate regions were created by the Building America program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy (EERE). 

 3

In earlier CBECS publications, BAS was referred to as Energy Management and Control System (EMCS) .

 Q = Data withheld either because the Relative Standard Error (RSE) was greater than 50 percent or fewer than 20 buildings were sampled.

 N = No cases in reporting sample.

 Notes: ● Because of rounding, data may not sum to totals. ● See Guide to the 2012 CBECS Detailed Tables or CBECS Terminology for definition of terms used 

in these tables and/or comparison of differences with prior CBECS tables. Both references can be accessed from 

http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/2012/

 Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Consumption and Efficiency Statistics, Form EIA-871A of the 2012 Commercial Buildings 

Energy Consumption Survey.