This paper examines the importance of schednling in the determination of total energy use and the temporal distribution of end-use consumption. Four archetypes of diurnal and seasonal end-use load shapes are proposed. These archetypes are used to describe the interaction between schedules and lighting, equipment, heating, and cooling loads in the determination of end-use load shapes. The concepts of schedule and temperature-determined end-use loads are then empirically examined using two buildings from the ELCAP metering project. Hourly enduses are examined and compared to the archetypes. The primary conclusions of the work are that schedules appear to play a dominant role in determining the diurnal and seasonal shape of loads for the commercial sector as a whole. Case studies on individual buildings, including the two described in the paper, appear to confirm these observations concerning the commercial sector’s load shape.

Units: I-P