Principal Building Activities
Three of the four activities that dominated commercial floorspace—office, warehouse and storage, and mercantile—dominated the distribution of buildings (Figure 1). Each of these three activity categories included more than 600,000 buildings, while no other building activity had more than a half-million buildings and only service buildings exceeded 350,000 buildings.
Figure 1. Distribution of Buildings by Principal Building Activity, 1999
Energy Information Administration
Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey
Differences between the relative distribution of floorspace and buildings by building activity (see graphical comparison) reflected differences in building size (Figure 2). Education buildings were nearly two times larger than the average commercial building, which explained the large amount of floorspace (13 percent) devoted to that single activity. Two other activities were more common in larger buildings; lodging (which includes hotels) and health care (which includes hospitals).
Three activities—service, food service, and food sales—were typically found in buildings that were smaller than average. Buildings in those categories include gas stations, fast-food restaurants, and convenience stores.
Figure 2. Average Building Size by Principal Building Activity, 1999
Energy Information Administration
Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey
Return to:
“1999 CBECS—Commercial Buildings Characteristics”
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Release date: May 21, 2002
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