Energy Use in the Commercial/Institutional Sector
Key highlights
- Energy efficiency in the commercial/institutional sector improved 24%, saving Canadians 179.6 PJ of energy and $4.3 billion in energy costs in 2016.
- Energy intensity (GJ/m2) decreased 9%.
- Energy use increased 34%. It would have increased 58% without energy efficiency improvements.
Overview - Energy use and GHG emissions
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Commercial/institutional energy indicators
| 1990 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Floor space | 509.9 million m2 | 750.1 million m2 |
| Auxiliary and electronic equipment | 54 PJ | 144 PJ |
| Employees | 9 million | 13 million |
| GDP | $553 billion ($2007) | $1,116 billion ($2007) |
Major activities in the commercial/institutional sector include trade, finance, real estate, public administration, education and commercial services. These activities are grouped into 10 subsectors for reporting purposes.
Commercial businesses and institutions spent $23.7 billion on energy in 2016 to provide services to Canadians. Offices, retail trade and educational services accounted for about 70% of the 750.1 million m2 total Canadian commercial/institutional floor space in 2016.
Energy is used for various purposes, such as space heating, cooling, lighting and water heating, as well as for operating auxiliary equipment (e.g. computers and medical equipment) and auxiliary motors (e.g. backup power systems). Space heating accounted for the largest share of energy use, about 55%, followed by auxiliary equipment at 14%.
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Distribution of commercial/institutional energy use by end use, 2016
| Distribution of commercial/institutional energy use | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Space heating | 54.8 |
| Auxiliary equipment | 14.4 |
| Lighting | 10.8 |
| Water heating | 7.9 |
| Auxiliary motors | 5.5 |
| Space cooling | 5.8 |
| Street lighting | 0.7 |
Isolating the effect of energy efficiency
Without energy efficiency gains, energy use would have increased 58% instead of 34%.
The factorization analysis takes into account the impacts of activity, structure, weather, service level and energy efficiency on the change in commercial/institutional energy use.
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Impact of activity, structure, weather, service level and energy efficiency on the change in commercial/institutional energy use, 1990–2016
| Petajoules | |
|---|---|
| Total change in energy use | 251.8 |
| Activity effect | 340.7 |
| Structure effect | 5.4 |
| Weather effect | -3.4 |
| Service level effect* | 90.5 |
| Energy efficiency effect | -179.6 |
| Other** | -1.8 |
** “Other” refers to street lighting, which is included in total energy use but excluded from the factorization results.
- Activity effect – A A 47% increase in floor space led to a 340.7-PJ growth in energy use and a 15.2-Mt increase in GHG emissions.
- Structure effect – A small increase in the percentage of buildings that used more energy per square metre of floor space, in this case offices and health services, translated into a 5.4-PJ increase, which had a marginal effect on GHG emissions (0.2 Mt).
- Weather effect – In 2016, the winter was warmer than in 1990, and the summer was hotter than in 1990. The net result was a decrease of 3.4 PJ in energy and about 0.2 Mt in GHG emissions.
- Service level effect – An increase of auxiliary equipment (e.g. computers, fax machines and photocopiers), led to a 90.5-PJ increase in energy use and a 4.0-Mt increase in GHG emissions.
- Energy efficiency effect – The 24% improvement in energy efficiency saved 179.6 PJ of energy, $4.3 billion in energy costs and 8.0 Mt of GHG emissions.
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Commercial/institutional energy use, with and without energy efficiency improvements, 1990–2016 (petajoules)
| Energy use without energy efficiency improvements | Energy use with energy efficiency improvements | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 736.6 | 736.6 |
| 1991 | 769.5 | 757.2 |
| 1992 | 792.1 | 776.7 |
| 1993 | 827.9 | 807.6 |
| 1994 | 835.3 | 798.9 |
| 1995 | 852.9 | 832.6 |
| 1996 | 887.7 | 829.8 |
| 1997 | 873.7 | 856.1 |
| 1998 | 850.5 | 802.9 |
| 1999 | 885.4 | 843.0 |
| 2000 | 925.0 | 925.0 |
| 2001 | 915.3 | 906.1 |
| 2002 | 972.2 | 963.1 |
| 2003 | 994.1 | 994.1 |
| 2004 | 991.0 | 974.1 |
| 2005 | 1023.9 | 948.8 |
| 2006 | 1010.3 | 895.0 |
| 2007 | 1061.0 | 940.2 |
| 2008 | 1081.1 | 947.4 |
| 2009 | 1101.2 | 941.0 |
| 2010 | 1095.3 | 928.4 |
| 2011 | 1119.0 | 974.5 |
| 2012 | 1117.1 | 939.3 |
| 2013 | 1150.9 | 960.9 |
| 2014 | 1180.1 | 1012.9 |
| 2015 | 1167.5 | 1000.4 |
| 2016 | 1169.8 | 990.3 |
Energy use
From 1990 to 2016, total commercial/institutional energy use increased 34% from 745.6 to 997.4 PJ (including street lighting). At the same time, the sector’s contribution to GDP grew nearly 102%, and floor space grew 47%. The GHG emissions associated with the sector’s energy use, including electricity-related emissions, increased about 9% over the same period.
Natural gas and electricity were the main energy sources used in this sector, accounting for 52% and 42% of total energy use, respectively, in 2016. Electricity was the primary energy source for lighting, space cooling, and auxiliary motors and equipment. Natural gas and the remaining fuels were the primary energy sources for space and water heating. Natural gas and propane were also used in small proportions to provide energy for auxiliary equipment, such as the propane for stoves and natural gas for space cooling services.
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Commercial/institutional energy use by fuel type and floor space, 1990 and 2016 (petajoules)
| 1990 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 268.6 | 416.5 |
| Natural gas | 387.1 | 513.9 |
| Light fuel oil and kerosene | 62.0 | 24.2 |
| Heavy fuel oil | 11.4 | 1.9 |
| Steam | 0.2 | 2.0 |
| Other* | 16.3 | 38.9 |
| Floor space (millions m2) | 509.9 | 750.1 |
Space heating continued to be the primary end use in the sector, accounting for approximately 55% of the total increase in energy use. However, auxiliary equipment experienced the largest increase in energy use (165%) resulting, in part, from the increasing computerization of all workspaces. Auxiliary equipment energy represented 36% of the sector’s aggregate energy use increase.
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Commercial/institutional energy use by end use, 2016 (petajoules)
| 1990 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Space heating | 449.9 | 547.1 |
| Auxiliary equipment | 54.3 | 144.1 |
| Lighting | 84.0 | 107.4 |
| Auxiliary motors | 60.4 | 54.6 |
| Water heating | 57.7 | 79.0 |
| Space cooling | 30.3 | 58.1 |
| Street lighting | 8.9 | 7.1 |
Offices accounted for the largest share of energy use in 2016 (35%). This subsector includes public administration and activities related to finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; and other offices. Retail trade (16%) and educational services (13%) were the next largest users.
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Commercial/institutional energy use by activity type, 1990 and 2016 (petajoules)
| 1990 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Office | 234.5 | 348.8 |
| Retail trade | 123.0 | 160.1 |
| Educational services | 95.7 | 129.4 |
| Health care and social assistance | 83.0 | 119.3 |
| Accommodation and food services | 54.9 | 77.8 |
| Wholesale trade | 53.2 | 56.0 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 45.1 | 37.3 |
| Other services | 16.5 | 15.7 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 16.5 | 25.0 |
| Information and cultural industries | 14.2 | 20.9 |
Several factors contributed to the growth in energy use in the commercial/institutional sector, including floor space, GDP and the number of employees.
Energy efficiency gains were achieved in terms of overall energy use per floor space. This was offset by an increase in energy requirements for auxiliary equipment. There was not only an overall increase in computerization of the work environment during this period, but also an increase in the actual number of devices required per employee.
Energy intensity
The sector as a whole experienced a 9% decrease in energy intensity in terms of energy consumed per unit of floor space (GJ/m2). However, it reduced its energy intensity by 34% when measured against economic activity (PJ/$GDP). The most energy-intensive activity types were health and accommodation and food services. This can be attributed to the energy-demanding nature of their activities (restaurants, laundry) and services (extensive hours of operation), as well as the use of new technologies, which translates into the proliferation of the amount of electronic equipment.
- The commercial/institutional sector encompasses all services-producing industries in Canada, NAICS 41-91.