Industrial Energy Efficiency Assessments and Recommendations Since 1981

20,971 energy assessments and 156,470 improvement recommendations for small and medium-sized industrial facilities are documented in this database. The U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers program collected data on facility characteristics and proposed savings from 1981 onward. This dataset supports analysis of long-term industrial energy use patterns and intervention effectiveness.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between facility industry type, energy usage, and the energy savings proposed in recommendations.
• Model the potential dollars savings from different recommendation types across various manufacturing sectors.
• Track the evolution of energy efficiency assessment practices and recommendation frequencies from 1981 to the present.
• Identify common recommendation patterns for facilities of specific sizes or within particular industrial classifications.

Strengths

• Contains a substantial volume of historical data with 20,971 distinct assessments.
• Documents a high ratio of detailed recommendations, with 156,470 specific improvement suggestions linked to assessments.
• Provides long-term temporal coverage of industrial energy practices beginning in 1981.
• Sourced from the authoritative U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Assessment Centers program.

Limitations

• The specific data columns and schema are not documented, complicating direct analysis.
• Data is provided in legacy file formats (XLS, ZIP, HTML) which may require conversion for modern tools.
• The description does not specify the geographic distribution of the assessed facilities, which could indicate regional bias.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Energy

Collection Method

Collected from energy efficiency assessments conducted by the Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers at industrial facilities.

Time Range

1981 to at least November 2023

Freshness

Data was last updated in June 2024 and includes assessments through at least November 2023.

Geography

United States (implied by the Department of Energy program, but not explicitly stated)