by Fred Ashton, Economic Analyst, NEMA

July/August 2019

Policymakers have established energy-efficiency Standards and building energy codes to reduce electricity consumption and the adverse externalities associated with electricity generation.

Over the next 30 years, the government projects a substantial reduction in electricity consumption by the residential and commercial building sectors.

The energy delivered to residential and commercial buildings, including electricity, natural gas, petroleum, and other fuels, is expected to grow 0.3 percent per year from 2017 to 2050 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2018. That accounts for more than a quarter of total energy delivered in the United States.

As of the end of 2017, electricity consumption accounts for nearly 45 percent of energy use in residential buildings and 52 percent in commercial buildings. Over the next three decades, electricity consumption by the residential and commercial sectors is expected to increase nearly 16 percent to just shy of 11 quadrillion British thermal units (BTU). However, the amount of electricity consumption per household and per billion square feet of commercial space will decrease in most end-use categories. Why? Tighter energy-efficiency Standards and building energy codes.

According to EIA data, electricity consumption per household used by lighting is expected to fall by more than half. A similar trend is taking place in the commercial space. The adoption of highefficiency light-emitting diodes (LED) is projected to result in a 56 percent decrease in electricity usage by lighting systems.

EIA forecasts electricity used for commercial HVAC equipment to drop by more than onethird between 2017 and 2050 because of increases in efficiency.

Building systems that help manage electricity use and an increase in energy-efficient products are helping to drive the trend. ei