January 24, 2010

Buildings represent one of the main frontiers in the global challenge to increase efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption.  Buildings are responsible for 49% of global energy consumption and 47% of greenhouse gas emissions.  The energy consumption of buildings will become even more important as total building space grows rapidly over the next decade, driven largely by urbanization and population growth in the developing world.  According to a new report and database from Pike Research, total commercial and residential floor space will grow by 26% between 2010 and 2020, increasing from 142 billion square meters (1.5 trillion square feet) to 178 billion square meters (1.9 trillion square feet) during that period.

“Construction of new buildings will experience dramatic growth during the next 10 years,” says research analyst Eric Bloom.  “While the expansion of floor space within mature markets in North America and Western Europe will be relatively small, in the 7% to 8% range, the real story will be in urban centers of populous countries like China and India, where we anticipate building stock expansion of 61% and 51%, respectively, by 2020.  This growth will be a major driver of surging energy demand.”

Bloom adds that, during the next decade, the fastest growing building category will be multi-unit housing, which will outpace the growth in single-family detached housing by a factor of 2.5 to 1.   In commercial building markets, Pike Research forecasts that the biggest growth will come in retail space, following by education and office buildings.  Today, the residential building stock is about three times the size of the commercial building stock.

Pike Research’s analysis finds that information on the size and character of the global building stock is a vital starting point for any comprehensive assessment for energy efficiency products and services.  However, despite the utility that a comprehensive data set on the global building stock could provide to vendors, service providers, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other groups, there has historically been no single data set covering the building stock of the entire world.  Pike Research’s database is the first tool to provide this information.

Pike Research’s report, “Global Building Stock Database”, provides data and forecasts on the size (both in terms of square meters and square feet) and growth of the global building stock from 2010 to 2020 as well as a qualitative analysis of key drivers and trends in the building stock.  The database covers eight commercial building types (office, retail, education, healthcare, hotels and restaurants, institutional/assembly, warehouse, and transport) and two residential building types (single family detached and multi-unit residential) for more than 200 countries in seven regions worldwide.  An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

Pike Research is a market research and consulting firm that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets.  The company’s research methodology combines supply-side industry analysis, end-user primary research and demand assessment, and deep examination of technology trends to provide a comprehensive view of the Smart Energy, Clean Transportation, Clean Industry, and Building Efficiency sectors.  For more information, visit www.navigantresearch.com or call +1.303.997.4619.