| In this section: Why this indicator? What are the trends? What does it mean? About the data |
Sidebar: What is Commercial Energy Used for? |
The energy cost intensity for the commercial sector (measured as energy expenditures per commercial employee) declined 38 percent from 1982 to 1993. During this same period energy consumption per employee declined 26 percent. This, along with a decline in energy costs, explains the decline in energy expenditures and suggests that gains in commercial sector energy efficiency were achieved during this period. Conversely, the period from 1978 to 1982 saw an increase in energy expenditures per employee of 82 percent. This resulted from a 24 percent increase in energy consumption per employee and an increase in energy prices. The increase in consumption is due to increased electricity use. The electricity share of commercial energy consumption grew from 37 percent in 1970 to 60 percent in 1993. Electricity consumption per employee increased 58 percent from 1970 to 1993, but declined 14 percent from its peak in 1982 to 1993.
| Commercial Electric Consumption | Commercial Total Energy Consumption | Commercial Total Energy Expenditures | Commercial Electric Consumption per Employee | Commercial Energy Consumption per Employee | Commercial Energy Expenditures per Employee | ||
| Year | GWh | TBtu | million 1993$ | kWh/emp | MBtu/emp | 1993$/emp | |
| 1970 | 6,700 | 61.4 | $420 | 6,630 | 60.7 | 411 | |
| 1971 | 7,200 | 65.6 | $430 | 7,160 | 65.2 | 432 | |
| 1972 | 9,700 | 76.3 | $530 | 9,510 | 74.8 | 516 | |
| 1973 | 10,300 | 86.8 | $580 | 9,670 | 81.5 | 543 | |
| 1974 | 10,100 | 84.2 | $580 | 9,060 | 75.6 | 524 | |
| 1975 | 10,400 | 82.4 | $630 | 9,050 | 71.8 | 548 | |
| 1976 | 11,100 | 84.3 | $650 | 9,250 | 70.2 | 543 | |
| 1977 | 11,100 | 85.7 | $700 | 8,840 | 68.3 | 557 | |
| 1978 | 12,100 | 85.0 | $670 | 9,110 | 64.0 | 506 | |
| 1979 | 12,900 | 93.2 | $780 | 9,260 | 66.9 | 559 | |
| 1980 | 13,800 | 93.9 | $890 | 9,560 | 65.1 | 619 | |
| 1981 | 17,800 | 104.7 | $1,120 | 12,110 | 71.2 | 759 | |
| 1982 | 18,100 | 117.0 | $1,370 | 12,230 | 79.1 | 923 | |
| 1983 | 18,200 | 114.7 | $1,300 | 11,940 | 75.3 | 852 | |
| 1984 | 18,000 | 122.8 | $1,390 | 11,350 | 77.5 | 878 | |
| 1985 | 19,000 | 137.9 | $1,490 | 11,520 | 83.6 | 906 | |
| 1986 | 18,800 | 115.6 | $1,260 | 11,020 | 67.8 | 737 | |
| 1987 | 19,700 | 122.0 | $1,250 | 11,020 | 68.2 | 697 | |
| 1988 | 20,700 | 133.5 | $1,290 | 11,060 | 71.3 | 690 | |
| 1989 | 20,600 | 127.3 | $1,260 | 10,660 | 65.9 | 650 | |
| 1990 | 21,500 | 128.7 | $1,230 | 10,550 | 63.2 | 602 | |
| 1991 | 22,000 | 130.9 | $1,190 | 10,470 | 62.3 | 565 | |
| 1992 | 22,500 | 123.8 | $1,170 | 10,490 | 57.7 | 546 | |
| 1993 | 23,000 | 130.6 | $1,230 | 10,520 | 59.7 | 564 | |
| Sources: Consumption and Expenditures -- Energy Information Administration; Employment -- U.S. Department of Commerce; Price Deflator -- OFM, Forecasting Division, Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast | |||||||
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The commercial sector includes service, wholesale and retail trade businesses, and government services in the state. The commercial sector indicators divide commercial energy consumption and expenditures by the number of commercial employees to show trends in commercial sector energy intensity. Note that square feet of commercial floor space is commonly used to measure commercial sector energy intensity. Commercial square footage was not used because of the lack of availability of consistent historical data for Washington State.
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Commercial energy consumption per employee increased 34 percent from 1970 to 1973 and 24 percent from 1978 to 1982. These increases were offset by a 28-percent decline from 1985 to 1993, which left energy consumption per employee in 1993 at a similar value to 1970. Gains in electricity consumption per employee accounted for 50 percent of the gains in total consumption per employee from 1970 to 1973 and 72 percent of the gain from 1978 to 1982.
Commercial energy expenditures per employee followed the consumption trends. Expenditures increased 32 percent from 1970 to 1973. This was due largely to increased consumption. The first oil crisis had little impact on energy prices for the key fuels used by the commercial sector. The 82 percent increase in energy expenditures per employee from 1978 to 1982 was influenced more by higher energy prices than greater energy consumption. Energy expenditures per employee dropped 38 percent from 1982 to 1993 leaving 1993 costs 37 percent higher than in 1970.
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Since 1985, the commercial sector has experienced significant gains in energy efficiency (as measured by energy consumption per employee). Increases in commercial energy-use intensity up to 1982 were driven by greater electricity consumption, likely due to increased use of electronic equipment and electric cooling. The trend of greater energy intensity did not continue after 1982 despite the increased penetration of computers and electronic equipment. This was also a period of declining energy prices. This suggests that improvements in energy efficiency were achieved during the 1980s.
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Commercial energy consumption and expenditure data are from the Energy Information Administration. Commercial employee data are from the US Commerce Department. Commercial data include wholesale and retail trade, financial, real estate, insurance, and other services, and government employment.
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What is Commercial Energy Used for?
Lighting accounts for a major portion of commercial building energy consumption. The figure shows the distribution of energy consumption by end-use for commercial office and retail buildings in the Northwest. The shares are based on data from the End-Use Load and Consumer Assessment Program (ELCAP) funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. This study measured the end-use energy consumption from a sample of commercial buildings in the Northwest over a five year period. The average end-use shares shown in the figures are based on monitored data from 19 office buildings and 18 retail buildings. Note that end-use shares in commercial buildings can vary significantly. Restaurants are very energy intensive and have high cooking, refrigeration and heating, cooling and ventilation loads while warehouses tend to have low energy intensity with predominately lighting loads. |
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