Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)

Overview
Data

Analysis & Projections

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2018 CBECS: Principal Building Activities
Other

The other category includes laboratories and other miscellaneous buildings that do not fit into any other activity category. It also includes buildings that are industrial or agricultural with some retail space and buildings with several different commercial activities that, together, make up 50% or more of the floorspace, but whose largest single activity is agricultural, industrial, manufacturing, or residential.

A infographic showing buildings characteristics of other buildings in CBECS. In 2018, other buildings accounted for 2% of commercial buildings, 3% of commercial floorspace, 5% of major fuels consumption, and 6% of major fuels expenditures.

We publish two subcategories of other buildings:

Laboratory
Other, which includes airplane hangars, broadcasting studios, crematoriums, telephone switching facilities, agricultural with some retail space, manufacturing or industrial with some retail space, data centers, and public restrooms, locker rooms, or changing areas

A bubble chart showing other buildings by subcategory. Laboratories accounted for 10% of other buildings.

Laboratories accounted for 10% of other buildings. The rest of the other subcategories have been combined into the other category.

Almost two-thirds (65%) of other buildings were less than 10,000 square feet. On average, other buildings were 21,500 square feet per building.

A bar chart showing other buildings by square footage category. Almost two-thirds (65%) of other buildings were less than 10,000 square feet.

Energy use in other buildings

Other buildings used 328 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of energy in 2018. Although other buildings accounted for 3% of total commercial floorspace, these buildings accounted for 5% of energy consumption in commercial buildings. Electricity was the most-used fuel (239 TBtu), followed by natural gas (48 TBtu). The mean energy intensity for other buildings was 134.8 thousand British thermal units (MBtu) per square foot.

A bar chart showing energy consumption in other buildings by fuel. Electricity was the most-used fuel (239 TBtu), followed by natural gas (48 TBtu).

Although laboratories accounted for 10% of other buildings, 40% of energy consumption in the other building activity came from laboratories.

A 100% stacked bar chart showing energy consumption in other buildings by building subcategory. Laboratories accounted for 40% of energy consumption in lodging buildings.

Space heating (25%) and other (27%) accounted for similar amounts of end-use consumption in other buildings. Computing accounted for about one-fifth of end-use consumption (22%). Other building activities include data centers, which centralize a large amount of computing. All other end uses each accounted for 9% or less of end-use consumption.

A bar chart showing major fuels energy consumption by end use in other buildings. Space heating (25%) and other (27%) accounted for similar amounts of end-use consumption in other buildings.

Energy intensity was highest for space heating (39.5 MBtu per square foot) and lowest for office equipment (0.5 MBtu per square foot).

A dot plot showing major fuels energy intensities by end use in other buildings. Energy intensity was highest for space heating (39.5 MBtu per square foot) and lowest for office equipment (0.5 MBtu per square foot).

Inside other buildings

Packaged heating units were the most common heating equipment and were used in 34% of other buildings. The second-most-used heating equipment was individual space heaters (24%).

A bar chart showing heating equipment in other buildings. Packaged heating units were the most common heating equipment and were used in 34% of other buildings.

Packaged air conditioners were the most common cooling equipment (34%) in other buildings. Residential-type central air conditioners were the second-most-used cooling equipment (22%).