May 1, 2009—The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has issued an online report concerning lighting, which EIA notes is a major consumer of electricity in commercial buildings and a target for energy savings. “Lighting in Commercial Buildings” presents information collected by the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).
The report includes data on types of lighting equipment, the amount of floorspace that is lit, and the percentage of floorspace lit by each type. In addition, CBECS data are used to model end-use consumption, including energy consumed for lighting in commercial buildings.
CBECS collects information on five types of lamps: standard fluorescent, compact fluorescent, incandescent, high intensity discharge (HID), and halogen, which all have different lighting characteristics and energy efficiency, notes EIA.
A few highlights of the report include:
- Nearly all commercial buildings have some type of lighting (91% of buildings are lit); the majority of those without lighting are warehouses and vacant buildings;
- Standard fluorescent lamps are used by 85% of commercial buildings, and they illuminate three-fourths of lit floorspace in buildings;
- Incandescent lamps are used by nearly half of lit buildings (47%), but illuminate just 11 percent of the total lit area;
- Just under one-third (30%) of lit buildings use compact fluorescent lamps; and
- Compact fluorescent, high intensity discharge, and halogen lamps each illuminate less than 10 percent of lit floorspace.
Detailed data tables for the 1995, 1999 and 2003 surveys contain information on lighting not previously released.
