If you’re a stats/metrics/numbers person, and you haven’t yet found your way to the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Web site, created by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), here’s a warning: Clear your afternoon.
The massive site contains dozens of spreadsheets that illustrate how buildings use energy. You can find information on just about every building size, type and function, geographical location, and energy use data in just about every form. And you can compare all that data to previous years to decipher the trends.
There are numerous charts and graphs that illustrate the data in glance-able form, as well as information on climate zones, census data, etc. Really, everything you can possibly imagine concerning buildings and energy use is there. And the site provides a simple description of the methodology EIA uses for the survey and highlights changes from year to year.
Data are collected every four years, and EIA is beginning a new survey in 2008. For a journalist, it’s a great place to research articles. For facility executives, it’s a wonderful opportunity to compare how your building portfolio compares with the total U.S. building stock.