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Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)

2003 CBECS Survey Data 2018 | 2012 | 2003 | 1999 | 1995 | 1992 |

Building Characteristics

In the 2003 CBECS, the survey procedures for strip shopping centers and enclosed malls ("mall buildings") were changed from those used in previous surveys, and, as a result, mall buildings are now excluded from most of the 2003 CBECS tables. Therefore, some data in the majority of the tables are not directly comparable with previous CBECS tables, all of which included mall buildings. Some numbers in the 2003 tables will be slightly lower than earlier surveys since the 2003 figures do not include mall buildings. See "Change in Data Collection Procedures for Malls" for a more detailed explanation.

Tables A1 through A8 contain estimates for all buildings including malls but have a limited set of row categories; Tables B1 through B46 include complete sets of row categories but the estimates do not include malls.

A table of Relative Standard Errors (RSEs) is included as a worksheet tab in the Excel version of all building characteristics tables (A1-A8 and B1-B46). Complete sets of RSE tables (What is an RSE?) are also available in PDF format.

See 1999 to 2012 CBECS Terminology for definitions specific to this survey cycle

Change in Data Collection Procedures for Malls

Released: Dec 2006

For nearly all of the CBECS building activities, collection of the data with a building-level questionnaire is straightforward because a knowledgeable respondent can provide accurate information during the interview. However, use of a building questionnaire for two types of mercantile buildings—strip shopping centers and enclosed malls—creates special problems. These buildings contain anywhere from a few to more than 100 establishments, and each of the establishments has characteristics that can—and do—vary significantly from the other establishments. Therefore, no single respondent may be knowledgeable about the mall building and all of its establishments.

Instead of conducting a single building interview, we interviewed a subsample of up to three individual establishments within each sampled mall building using an establishment questionnaire and, in addition, interviewed a representative of enclosed malls to collect information on the common area of those malls. We used publicly available information and data from a purchased shopping mall database in combination with establishment data collected by CBECS to estimate the square footage of mall buildings.

We present the building characteristics data with two sets of building characteristics tables. Tables A1-A8 include all commercial buildings while tables B1-B46 exclude mall buildings. Tables A1-A8 have a limited number of row categories—only those for which CBECS collected complete building information. The rowstub categories are building floorspace, principal building activity, year constructed, Census Region and Division, and number of establishments. The data in these tables are representative of the entire commercial buildings sector and the data are comparable with previous CBECS. Table Set B (which begins with Non-Mall Buildings) has the full range of row categories of previous CBECS, but excludes mall buildings; therefore, these data are not directly comparable to previous CBECS.

Similarly, there are two sets of consumption and expenditures tables. Tables C1-C38 exclude mall buildings while tables C1A-C38A include all commercial buildings. Tables C1-C38 have the full range of row categories of previous CBECS, but they exclude mall buildings; therefore, these data are not directly comparable to previous CBECS. Tables C1-C38 have the same limited row categories as Tables A1-A8 (see previous paragraph). The data in these tables are representative of the entire commercial buildings sector and the data are comparable with previous CBECS.

Figures 1 and 2 show the "All Buildings" and "Principal Building Activity (PBA)" row categories for Tables A1 and B1. Within the PBA category, the number of buildings and total floorspace are the same for both tables except for the "Mercantile" category. In Table A1 (Figure 1), "Enclosed and Strip Malls" are included. It is the buildings of this category that are excluded from all set B tables. These buildings total 213 thousand (4.4 percent) and 6.9 million square feet of floorspace (9.6 percent).

Figure 1. "All Buildings" and "Principal Building Activity" of Table A1
Table A1. Summary Table for All Buildings (Including Malls), 2003
Number of Buildings
(thousand)
Total Floorspace
(million sq. ft.)
Mean Square Feet per Building
(thousand)
Median Square Feet per Building
(thousand)
All Buildings… 4,859 71,658 14.7 5.0
Principal Building Activity
—Education… 386 9,874 25.6 7.0
—Food Sales … 226 1,255 5.6 2.8
—Food Service … 297 1,654 5.6 3.5
—Health Care 129 3,163 24.6 6.0
——Inpatient… 8 1,905 241.4 106.0
——Outpatient… 121 1,258 10.4 6.0
—Lodging… 142 5,096 35.8 12.5
—Mercantile… 657 11,192 17.0 6.9
——Retail (other than mall)… 443 4,317 9.7 4.8
——Enclosed and Strip Malls… 213 6,875 32.2 12.3
—Office… 824 12,208 14.8 4.0
—Public Assembly… 277 3,939 14.2 6.7
—Public Order and Safety… 71 1,090 15.5 5.0
—Religious Worship… 370 3,754 10.1 6.0
—Service… 622 4,050 6.5 2.8
—Warehouse and Storage… 597 10,078 16.9 5.2
—Other… 79 1,738 21.9 4.6
—Vacant… 182 2,567 14.1 3.7
Figure 2. "All Non-Mall Buildings" and "Principal Building Activity" of Table B1
Table B1. Summary Table for Non-Mall Buildings, 2003
Number of Buildings
(thousand)
Total Floorspace
(million sq. ft.)
Total Workers
(thousand)
Mean Square Feet per Building
(thousand)
Mean Square Feet per Worker Mean Hours per Week
All Non-Mall Buildings… 4,645 64,783 72,807 13.9 890 79
Principal Building Activity
—Education… 386 9,874 12,489 25.6 791 556
—Food Sales … 226 1,255 1,430 5.6 877 107
—Food Service … 297 1,654 3,129 5.6 528 108
—Health Care 129 3,163 6,317 24.6 501 61
——Inpatient… 8 1,905 3,716 241.4 513 168
——Outpatient… 121 1,258 2,600 10.4 484 554
—Lodging… 142 5,096 2,457 35.8 2,074 167
—Retail (Other than Mall) … 443 4,317 3,463 9.7 1,246 59
—Office… 824 12,208 28,154 14.8 434 70
—Public Assembly… 277 3,939 2,395 14.2 1,645 71
—Public Order and Safety… 71 1,090 1,347 15.5 809 154
—Religious Worship… 370 3,754 1,706 10.1 2,200 48
—Service… 622 4,050 3,667 6.5 1,105 76
—Warehouse and Storage… 597 10,078 4,369 16.9 2,306 116
—Other… 79 1,738 1,819 21.9 956 95
—Vacant… 182 2,567 64 14.1 39,886 15

Guide to the 2003 CBECS Detailed Tables

Released: Dec 2006

The detailed tables for the 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) consist of building characteristics tables (A1-A8 and B1-B46), which contain the number of buildings and amount of floorspace for major building characteristics, and consumption and expenditures tables (C1-C38 and C1A-C38A), which contain energy usage data.

Tables A1-A8 and C1A-C38A contain basic information for all buildings including malls, whereas Tables B1-B46 and C1-C38 contain information only for non-mall buildings. Click here for further explanation of the differences.

Tables B1 and B2 are summary tables. Tables B3-B21 address location, building size, year constructed, building activity, number of workers, hours of operation, and types of occupancy. Tables B22-B33 contain data about the energy sources used for all end uses and for specific major end uses. Tables B34-B46 contain data about percent of floorspace heated, cooled, and lit, and energy-using equipment types (heating, cooling, water heating, lighting, and refrigeration).

Tables C1-C12 and C1A-C12A contain energy usage data for the total of all major fuels (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat). Tables C13-C22 and C13A-C22A contain electricity usage data. Tables C23-C32 and C23A-C32A contain natural gas usage data. Tables C33-C36 and C33A-C36A contain fuel oil usage data. Tables C37, C38, C37A, and C38A contain district heat usage data.

Column Categories

The column categories in the building characteristics tables mainly provide counts of number of buildings or total floorspace by various building characteristics. For example, in Table A2, the number in the "All Buildings" row and in the column labeled "Northeast" under the heading "Number of Buildings (thousand)" tells us that there were an estimated 761,000 buildings in the Northeast Census Region in 2003. This same column under the heading "Total Floorspace (million square feet)" tells us that these buildings comprised 13,995,000,000 square feet of total floorspace.

The column categories in the energy consumption and expenditures tables provide various measures of energy use. The following terms, listed in alphabetical order, are explanations of some of these columns that may require clarification:

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: "In 2003, education buildings in the Northeast that used electricity as an energy source used an average of 7.8 kilowatthours 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: "In 2003, 25 percent of buildings in the U.S. larger than 500,000 square feet used 10.0 kWh per square foot or less, and 75 percent of these buildings used more than 10.0 kWh of electricity per square foot."

Electricity—Site electricity. (See "site electricity" and "primary electricity" in this listing.)

Energy Intensity—Usually defined as "gross energy intensity" or "conditional energy intensity" in title of table. If table title does not specify, "energy intensity" is to be defined as "conditional energy intensity."

Floorspace—The enclosed area in a building; the sum of the floorspace in all buildings in a category.

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: "In 2003, education buildings in the Northeast consumed an average of 101.6 thousand Btu per square foot."

Major Fuel—Major energy sources: electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat (district steam or district hot water). Although electricity is technically not a fuel, "Major Fuel," rather than "Major Energy Source," was retained as the title of this category to facilitate comparison of previous CBECS data.

Primary Electricity—Site electricity plus the losses associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of the electricity. Most of the tables present statistics for site consumption alone, but Tables C1 and C13 also provide consumption statistics for primary electricity.

Site Electricity—The amount of electricity delivered to the commercial building. This amount excludes losses associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of the electricity. (See "primary electricity" in this listing.) Most of the tables in this section provide statistics for site electricity alone (not for primary electricity). When just the term "electricity" is used, the reference is to site electricity.

Sum of Major Fuels—The total of site electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat. Statistics in this column exclude data from the column "Primary Electricity."

Row Categories

The row categories classify data by specific features, such as principal building activity or energy sources used. Some of these categories are followed by the phrase "more than one may apply." This indicates overlapping categories, so that a particular building may be represented in more than one line under this stub (for example, in "Energy Sources," a building can use both electricity and natural gas). In general, row stubs without this designation are mutually exclusive—that is, they divide the population of buildings into distinct groups, so that a particular building is represented in no more than one line under this stub.

Any line within a row category that is indented should be interpreted as being a subset of the preceding line. For example, in the row category "Principal Building Activity," there are two indented lines under "Health Care"—"Inpatient" and "Outpatient." These are both subsets of the "Health Care" category.

Below are explanations of some of the row categories found in the tables that may require clarification. These terms are listed in the order in which they occur in the tables. Definitions of most terms found in the Detailed Tables can also be found in the Glossary.

All Buildings—In Tables A1 through A8, these are all roofed and walled structures whose principal activities are nonresidential, nonagricultural, and nonindustrial and that are larger than 1,000 square feet (roughly twice the size of a two-car garage). In Tables B1 through B46 and C1 through C38, these are the same except they do not include enclosed malls or strip shopping centers.

Principal Building Activity—A classification of the activity that occupies the most floorspace in the buildings. Some building types are combined in the tables. For example, refrigerated and non-refrigerated warehouses were combined as "warehouses," and skilled nursing care buildings were included in "lodging." See Description of Building Types for a full description of the principal building activity categories.

Census Region and Division—The geographical areas as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Census. See Census Regions and Divisions Map for a map that shows the four Census Regions and nine Census Divisions.

Climate Zone—The five U.S. climate zones are based on the average number of cooling degree-days (CDD) and heating degree-days (HDD) in a 30-year period (1971-2000). See U.S. Climate Zone Map for a map that shows the five U.S. climate zones.

Vacancy Status—"Completely Vacant" buildings are those that are 100 percent vacant; "Mostly Vacant" buildings are those in which the majority of the floorspace is vacant; "Partially Vacant" are those in which some (but not a majority) of the floorspace is vacant or some portion of the building was vacant for at least three consecutive months in 2003; and "Not At All Vacant" are those in which no portion of the building was reported as vacant in 2003.

Renovations in Buildings Constructed Before 1980—Buildings that were constructed in 1980 or any later year were not asked the question about renovations. So, in this row category, the line "Any Type of Renovation Since 1980" shows the number of buildings constructed before 1980 that have had any renovations since 1980, "No Renovations Since 1980" shows the number of buildings constructed before 1980 that have not had any renovations since 1980, and the last line, "Building Newer than 1980" shows the number of buildings that were not asked this question because they were constructed after 1980.

Energy Sources—Buildings using a specific type of energy (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, district heat [district steam or district hot water], district chilled water, propane, and any other type of energy [wood, coal, or solar]) for any purpose. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for any purpose. For example, in Table B38 (Heating Equipment), the figure in the column "Furnaces" and the row "Natural Gas" should be interpreted: "1,314,000 buildings have a furnace and also use natural gas for some purpose."

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for any purpose. For example, in Table C3, the figure in the column "Sum of Major Fuel Consumption per Square Foot" and the row "Fuel Oil" should be interpreted: "Buildings that used fuel oil for any purpose consumed an average 116,100 Btu of total fuels per square foot in 2003." (It should NOT be interpreted as the consumption specifically of fuel oil.)

Energy End Uses—Buildings in which the specific end uses (heating, air-conditioning, water heating, cooking, and manufacturing) were present, NOT the actual amount of energy used for each end use. For example, in Table C1, data in the "Buildings with Cooling" row and in the "Sum of Major Fuels" column should interpreted: "Buildings with cooling consumed a total of 5,464 trillion Btu of the major fuels" (It should NOT be interpreted as the amount of energy specifically used for cooling"). Neither Table Sets C1-C38 nor C1A-C38A contain any data on the energy consumption for end uses specifically. End use consumption estimates will be published at a future date.

Space-Heating Energy Sources—Buildings using at least one of the major fuels, propane, wood, or any other energy source for space heating. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for space heating. For example, in Table B38 (Heating Equipment), the figure in the column "Heat Pumps" and the row "Natural Gas" should be interpreted: "124,000 buildings have a heat pump and also use natural gas as an energy source for space heating." (It should NOT be interpreted as the number of buildings that use natural gas to power a heat pump. It is possible that they also use electricity for space heating, and that electricity is the energy source used for the heat pump.)

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for space heating. For example, in Table C23, the figure in the column "Natural Gas Consumption" and the row "Natural Gas" should be interpreted: "1,749 billion cubic feet of natural gas were used in buildings that use natural gas for space heating." (It should NOT be interpreted as the consumption of natural gas specifically for space heating.)

Primary Space-Heating Energy Source—Buildings using a specific energy source to heat most of the square footage in the building most of the time. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for primary space heating. For example, in Table B38 (Heating Equipment), the figure in the column "Furnaces" and the row "Electricity" should be interpreted: "296,000 buildings have a furnace and also use electricity as their primary space-heating energy source." (It should NOT be interpreted as the number of buildings that use electricity to power a furnace. It is possible that they use natural gas as a secondary space-heating energy source, and that natural gas is used as the energy source for the furnace.)

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for primary space heating. For example, in Table C23, the figure in the column "Natural Gas Consumption" and the row "Electricity" should be interpreted: "171 billion cubic feet of natural gas were used in buildings that use electricity as their primary space heating energy source."

Cooling Energy Source—Buildings using electricity, natural gas, or district chilled water for cooling. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for cooling. For example, in Table B40 (Cooling Equipment), the figure in the column "Heat Pumps" and the row "Natural Gas" should be interpreted: "8,000 buildings have a heat pump for cooling and also use natural gas for cooling." (It should NOT be interpreted as the number of buildings that use natural gas to power a heat pump. It is possible that the heat pump is powered by electricity while the natural gas is used to run a chiller.)

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for cooling. For example, in Table C13, the figure in the column "Site Electricity Consumption" and the row "Electricity" should be interpreted: "814 billion kWh of total electricity were used in buildings that use electricity as a cooling energy source." (It should NOT be interpreted as the consumption of electricity specifically for cooling.)

Water-Heating Energy Source—Buildings using one of the major fuels or propane for water heating. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for water heating.

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for water heating. For example, in Table C23, the figure in the column "Natural Gas Consumption" and the row "Natural Gas" should be interpreted: "1,463 billion cubic feet of natural gas were used in buildings that use natural gas for water heating." (It should NOT be interpreted as the consumption of natural gas specifically for water heating.)

Cooking Energy Source—Buildings using electricity, natural gas, or propane for cooking. In the building characteristics tables, this row indicates the number of buildings or floorspace in buildings that use each energy source for cooking.

In the consumption and expenditures tables, this row indicates total consumption in buildings that use each energy source for cooking. For example, in Table C13, the figure in the column "Site Electricity Consumption" and the row "Electricity" should be interpreted: "249 billion kWh of electricity were used in buildings that use electricity for cooking." (It should NOT be interpreted as the consumption of electricity specifically for cooking.)

Refrigeration Equipment—In the 2003 CBECS, the refrigeration questions were changed to include residential-type units and vending machines. As a consequence, the "Any Refrigeration" line includes many more buildings than the line in the 1999 CBECS "Commercial Refrigeration Equipment" row category labeled "Any Equipment." So, the second line in the 2003 table, "Commercial Refrigeration" has been specified to be comparable to the 1999 "Any Equipment" row; it includes only walk-in units and refrigerated cases or cabinets.

Office Equipment—Within this row category, the line "With Flat Screen Monitors" may need some clarification. This line represents the number of buildings in which at least one of their computers has a flat screen (LCD) monitor. For example, in Table B1, the first two lines of this row category should be interpreted as: "There are about 3,081,000 buildings that have at least one computer; there are about 877,000 buildings for which at least one of the computers in the building has a flat screen monitor."

Equipment Usage Reduced When Building Not In Full Use—The figure in the "Office Equipment" line of this row category is much higher than it was in the 1999 CBECS; this is not due to drastic increases in behavior, but instead to differences between the two surveys. In 1999, the question about whether computers and office equipment were turned off when the building was closed was asked only if there were 20 or more computers in the building. In 2003, it was asked of every building with any computers.

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Building Characteristics Tables for All Buildings (Including Malls) Additional Formats
All Tables (Tables A1-A8, 16 pages, 273 KB ) PDF
Table A1. Summary Table for All Buildings (Including Malls) PDF XLS
Table A2. Census Region, Number of Buildings and Floorspace for All Buildings PDF XLS
Table A3. Census Region and Division, Number of Buildings for All Buildings PDF XLS
Table A4. Census Region and Division, Floorspace for All Buildings PDF XLS
Table A5. Building Size, Number of Buildings for All Buildings PDF XLS
Table A6. Building Size, Floorspace for All Buildings (Including Malls) PDF XLS
Table A7. Number of Establishments in Building, Number of Buildings for All Buildings PDF XLS
Table A8. Number of Establishments in Building, Floorspace for All Buildings PDF XLS
Buildings Characteristics Tables for Non-Mall Buildings Additional Formats
All Tables (B1-B46, 215 pages 3.46 MB) PDF
Summary (Tables B1-B2) PDF
Table B1. Summary Table: Totals and Means of Floorspace, Number of Workers, and Hours of Operation for Non-Mall Buildings PDF XLS
Table B2. Summary Table: Totals and Medians of Floorspace, Number of Workers, Hours of Operation, and Age of Building for Non-Mall Buildings PDF XLS
Location (Tables B3-B5) PDF
Table B3. Census Region, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B4. Census Region and Division, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B5. Census Region and Division, Floorspace PDF XLS
Size and Age (Tables B6-B10) PDF
Table B6. Building Size, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B7. Building Size, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B8. Year Constructed, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B9. Year Constructed, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B10. Floors, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Building Activity (Tables B11-B14) PDF
Table B11. Selected Principal Building Activity: Part 1, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B12. Selected Principal Building Activity: Part 1, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B13. Selected Principal Building Activity: Part 2, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B14. Selected Principal Building Activity: Part 2, Floorspace PDF XLS
Employment and Occupancy (Table B15-B21) PDF
Table B15. Employment Size Category, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B16. Employment Size Category, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B17. Occupancy of Nongovernment-Owned and Government-Owned Buildings, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B18. Occupancy of Nongovernment-Owned and Government-Owned Buildings, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B19. Number of Establishments in Building, Number of Building PDF XLS
Table B20. Number of Establishments in Building, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B21. MultiBuilding Facilities, Number of Building and Floorspace PDF XLS
Energy Sources and End Use (Tables B22-B33) PDF
Table B22. Energy Sources, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B23. Energy Sources, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B24. Energy End Uses, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B25. Energy End Uses, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B26. Space-Heating Energy Sources, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B27. Space-Heating Energy Sources, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B28. Primary Space-Heating Energy Sources, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B29. Primary Space-Heating Energy Sources, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B30. Cooling Energy Sources, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B31. Water-Heating Energy Sources, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B32. Water-Heating Energy Sources, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B33. Cooking Energy Sources, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Floorspace Heated, Cooled and Lit (Table B34-B37) PDF
Table B34. Percent of Floorspace Heated, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B35. Percent of Floorspace Cooled, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B36. Percent of Floorspace Lit When Open, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B37. Heated, Cooled, and Lit Buildings, Floorspace PDF XLS
End-Use Equipment (Table B38-B46) PDF
Table B38. Heating Equipment, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B39. Heating Equipment, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B40. Cooling Equipment, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B41. Cooling Equipment, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B42. Water Heating Equipment, Number of Buildings and Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B43. Lighting Equipment, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B44. Lighting Equipment, Floorspace PDF XLS
Table B45. Refrigeration Equipment, Number of Buildings PDF XLS
Table B46. Refrigeration Equipment, Floorspace PDF XLS

RSE Tables

Standard error is a measure of the reliability or precision of the survey statistic. The value for the standard error can be used to construct confidence intervals and to perform hypothesis tests by standard statistical methods. Relative Standard Error (RSE) is defined as the standard error (square root of the variance) of a survey estimate, divided by the survey estimate and multiplied by 100. (More information on RSEs)

RSEs are available as a worksheet tab on all of the Excel tables (above) or in PDF format here:


Questions about CBECS may be directed to:

Joelle Michaels
joelle.michaels@eia.gov
Survey Manager