Glossary for the Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use, 2014

Anchor Store
A major commercial tenant such as a grocery store or a department store which may have both a shared and independent entrance as in the case of an enclosed mall.

Appliances (Commercial)
Appliances which are typically found in a commercial or industrial setting (e.g. freezers, refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, microwaves, washers and dryers). Exclude walk-in refrigerators and freezers, as well as refrigerated and freezer food display cases.

Appliances (Domestic)
Appliances which are typically found in a residential setting (e.g. freezers, refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, microwaves, washers and dryers).

Boiler
A type of space-heating equipment consisting of a vessel or tank where heat produced from the combustion of such fuels as natural gas, fuel oil, or coal is used to generate hot water or steam.

British Thermal Units
A unit of energy consumed by or delivered to a building. A British Thermal Unit is defined as the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit, at normal atmosphericpressure. Energy consumption is expressed in British Thermal Unit to allowfor consumption comparisons among fuels that are measured in different units.

Building
A structure totally enclosed by walls extending from a foundation to a roof.

Building Activity
Activity(ies) or function(s) taking place within a building.

Calendar Year
A calendar year is a period of 12 consecutive months from January 1 toDecember 31.

Campus or Complex
A group of two or more buildings on the same site owned or operated by a single organization, business, or individual. Examples include university campuses and hospital complexes.

Cogeneration
The simultaneous generation of electricity and thermal energy (e.g. steam) in one process and from the same fuel source. Types of cogeneration units or systems include condensing steam turbines and combined cycle gas turbines.

Commercial Building
A building that has more than 50 percent of its floor space used for commercial activities. These buildings include, but are not limited to, office buildings (non-medical), medical office buildings, warehouses, hotels and motels, food and beverage stores, non-food retail stores, and vacant buildings.

Common Areas
Common areas are spaces shared with other businesses in a building such as foyers, lobbies, washrooms, elevators, stairwells.

Computer
The definition of a computer includes personal computers and laptops but excludes cash registers and battery-operated hand-held devices, as well as servers in a dedicated server room.

Computer Server
A computer system that provides essential services over a computer network. This excludes personal computers and laptops.

Consumption
The amount of energy used in a building or by an organization during a given period of time, excluding fuel or energy used for transportation.

Contractor
A person who is contracted to perform work that is not directly related to daily activities of a business (e.g. renovations, repairs, deliveries).

Diesel
All grades of low-sulphur (lower than 0.05 percent) distillate fuel used for diesel engines.

District Chilled Water
Water chilled outside of a building in a central plant and piped into the building as an energy source for cooling.

District Heat
Steam or hot water produced outside of a building in a central plant and piped into the building as an energy source for space heating or another end use. The district heat may be purchased from a utility provider or providedby a central physical plant in a separate building that is part of the same multibuilding facility (for example, a hospital complex or university.) District heat includes district steam and/or district hot water.

District Hot Water
District heat in the form of hot water.

District Steam
District heat in the form of steam.

Domestic Water
Water used in the building for domestic purpose(e.g. drinking, food preparation, sanitation and personal hygiene).

Electricity Generation
The production of electricity using a generator, solar panels, fuel cells, aerogenerators, etc.

Electricity Purchased
Purchased electric energy supplied to a building by a central utility provider via power lines or from a central physical plant in a separate building thatis part of the same multibuilding facility. Electric power generated within a building for exclusive use in that building is specifically excluded.

Elevator
Equipment used to raise people or things to different levels or floors. Include public elevators, service elevators and lifts.

Energy Management and Control System (EMCS) or Building Automation System (BAS)
A system which monitors changes in ambient temperature and operating conditions, and automatically modifies the heating or cooling levels in different interior zones. This is accomplished by means of remote sensing and control instruments and interpretive and control software, also referred to as energy management systems or smart building controls.

Energy Performance Contract
A contract which guarantees that renovations or modifications to a building will deliver a certain amount of water and energy savings over a specified period of time. The costs of renewal projects are offset by the savings that are achieved as a result of these modifications.

Energy Source
A type of energy or fuel consumed in a building. Includes electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, district steam heating, and district hot water.

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager
An interactive energy management tool used by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency for tracking and assessing the energy and water consumption of buildings. Portfolio Manager has the ability to generate weather normalized and non-weather normalized energy use intensity values, greenhouse gas emission metrics, as well as percentile energy performance scores for eligible building types.

Energy Units of Measure
The unit in which energy is measured (e.g., kilowatt-hour (kWh), gigajoule(GJ), megawatt-hour (MWh), cubic metre (m³), litre (L), cubic feet (ft³), etc.).

Establishment
A statistical unit used for survey purposes. In the case of colleges and universities, the establishment is the campus. In the case of hospitals, it is the entire set of facilities of the hospital complex. For all other activity sectors, it is the business or institution. An establishment may have more than one building (e.g. a university campus). Conversely, a building may house more than one establishment (e.g. a shopping centre).

Floor Area
The area enclosed above or below ground by the exterior walls of a building.

Full-time Equivalent Employee
An employee who works at an establishment for 30 or more hours a week. Employees exclude contract workers and volunteers.

Furnace
A type of space-heating equipment with an enclosed chamber where fuel is burned or electrical resistance is used to heat air directly without steam or hot water.

Gigajoule
A unit of measure corresponding to one billion joules. A joule is the international unit for measuring energy and corresponds to the energy produced by a power of one watt flowing for one second.

HVAC
A heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) conservation feature that recuperates heat from exhaust.

Indoor Parking
An indoor area for parking vehicles. Includes partially exposed parking.

Institutional Building
A building that has more than 50 percent of its floor space used for institutional activities or for activities focusing on not-for-profit services in the public’s interest. These buildings include, but are not limited to,elementary and secondary schools, nursing and residential care facilities,and hospitals.

Kerosene
A petroleum distillate with properties similar to those of No. 1 fuel oil and used primarily in space heaters, cooking stoves, and water heaters.

Kilowatt-hour
A unit of work or energy measured as 1 kilowatt (1,000 watts) of power expended for 1 hour. One kWh is equivalent to 3,412 BTU.

Light Fuel Oil
A liquid petroleum product used as an energy source which is less volatile than gasoline. Light fuel oil includes distillate fuel oil (Nos. 1, 2, and 4).

Main Shift
The shift when the largest number of employees are in the building.If the number of employees changes depending on the season, report a main shift during the busiest season. Employees include part-time and full-time workers and exclude contractors and volunteers.

Multi-functional Devices
Devices which perform two or more activities such as printing, photocopying or faxing.

Natural Gas
A mixture of hydrocarbons containing mainly methane with small quantities of various gaseous hydrocarbons or hydrocarbons dissolved in crude oil found in underground deposits.

On-site Electricity Generation
A form of energy emanating from electric charges at rest or in movement. Includes purchased electricity and self-generated electricity kept for on-site usage.

Operating Hours
Hours an establishment is operating during a typical week. Exclude any time when maintenance, housekeeping, or security staff are working outside of the normal operating hours.

Partially Exposed Parking
Covered indoor parking with one or more walls fully or partially open to the exterior.

Portable Classroom
A classroom that has been brought on site for a temporary period(one school year or longer) to accomodate the variability in student population. This structure is not normally attached to the main school building.

Printers, Photocopiers and/or Fax machines
Equipment used to print, copy, and/or transmit a visual rendering either from a computer to a piece of paper or from a piece of paper onto another piece of paper.

Propane Gas
A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams. It can also take a liquid form.

Recommissioning Project
A systematic process for investigating, analyzing, and optimizing the performance of building systems by identifying and implementing of low or no cost and capital intensive facility improvement measures, as well as ensuring their continued performance.

Renovations or Retrofits
The process of upgrading a building's energy-consuming systems. Retrofitting may involve improving or replacing lighting fixtures, ventilation systems, or windows and doors, or adding insulation where it makes economic sense. Retrofitting also means including energy efficiency measures in renovation and repair activities.

Space Cooling
The conditioning of room air for human comfort by a refrigeration unit(e.g. an air conditioner or a heat pump) or by the circulation of chilled water through a central or district-cooling system. The use of fans or venting only, without air or water cooling, is excluded.

Steam
A gas resulting from the vaporisation of a liquid or the sublimation of a solid and generated by condensing or non-condensing turbines.

Typical Week
The normal operating hours for a building or organization when full and part time employees are working in the building. Excludes any time when maintenance, housekeeping, or security staff are working outside of the normal operating hours. If the week changes depending on the season, report a typical week during the busiest season.

Utility Bill
A bill or statement of charges for the consumption and delivery of energy sources or water which is provided by the provider of this energy source or water.

Water Heating
The use of energy to heat water for hot running water, as well as the useof energy to heat water on stoves and in auxiliary water-heating equipment for bathing, cleaning and other non-cooking applications.

Wood
An energy source that includes round wood (sold by the cord), lignin, wood scraps (chips) from furniture and window frame manufacturing, bark, sawdust, forestry residues, charcoal and pulp waste.

Year of Construction
The year in which the major portion of an establishments' building(s) was (were) built. If two or more portions or complete buildings of equal size were constructed at different times, then report the oldest.

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