Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey

The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) datasets include edited building-level data collected through the CBECS Building Survey (EIA-871A), Mall Building Survey (EIA-871I), Mall Establishment Survey (EIA-871J), and Energy Supplier Surveys (EIA-871C-F). CBECS is designed to provide a reference year snapshot of energy consumption and expenditures in the commercial buildings sector of the economy. CBECS also provides the number and square footage of U.S. commercial buildings by various energy-related building characteristics. CBECS data are widely used by policymakers, energy modelers, and industry as a baseline or benchmark of the U.S. commercial building stock, often by building type. CBECS is not a longitudinal study. Researchers are advised to use CBECS data for cross-sectional studies and not as a time series since the sample, study design, questionnaire, and statistical processes differ across survey cycles. Researchers are encouraged to consult each cycle’s documentation for more information. Most information collected on CBECS is available in a public use microdata file with disclosure protections applied so individual respondents are not identifiable. Research applications may include a combination of variables from both the non-public and public use microdata files. Public use microdata file may be helpful in evaluating subpopulation sample sizes prior to submitting a research application.