Estimation of electricity consumption in commercial buildings

For many engineering studies involving commercial buildings, quick but reliable estimates for building electrical load characteristics are helpful. Often, little information about the building electrical characteristics is known, so such estimates must be drawn from general engineering knowledge or historical data. In the United States, the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey and the Department of Energy Commercial Reference Buildings provide historical and simulation data, respectively, that may be used to predict the electricity consumption of commercial buildings. This paper develops a methodology for using these data sources to develop typical load characteristics, including building average power, electrical energy consumption, peak demand, load duration curves, and typical load profiles. Numerical results for office buildings are presented.