manufacturers, machine drives (motors) were the largest use of electricity.
In 2018, refrigeration was the largest single use of electricity in the commercial sector, accounting for 13.9% of spending.
According to the 2012 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (which was being updated as of 2018), commercial buildings spend $1.44 per square foot per year on electricity and $0.30 per square foot per year on natural gas.
The total electricity expense for private-sector office buildings in 2016 was $1.69 per square foot.
Other interesting facts related to how much utilities cost for a business: What is the average utility cost per square foot for commercial property? The answer: The average cost of utilities for commercial buildings is $2.10 per square foot. To that end, a common question is this: What is the average utility cost per square foot for commercial property? We’ll answer that-and provide some related information on how industry energy profiles can be useful-in the sections that follow. But controlling and cutting energy costs doesn’t happen overnight-it’s part of a larger educational process that starts with learning more about how you’re being billed, your industry’s energy profile, and your building’s specific energy dynamic. That being the case, the cost of utility-supplied power is of major concern to property managers searching for ways to lower costs. For most commercial buildings, energy is the single largest operating expense, most of which comes in the form of electricity.