While most home appliances have become more efficient over the past 30 years, the average U.S. household uses many more consumer electronics–in particular, personal computers, televisions and related devices, according to data released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the latest update to its Residential Energy Consumption Survey.
Notable trends in household energy characteristics include:
- 58% of U.S. homes had energy-efficient, multi-pane windows, up from 36% in the 1993 survey
- 76% of the 114 million U.S. homes had at least one computer, 8% more than just four years prior; 35% had multiple computers
- 68 million homes have energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) lights
- 44% of all U.S. homes had three or more televisions. Screen size and average energy consumption per television continue to grow
This new information on the ways energy is used in American homes is the first release of 2009 data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), which EIA has conducted periodically since 1979.
Historically, EIA has reported household energy data for the United States, Census Regions and Divisions, and the four most populous States: California, Texas, New York, and Florida. By tripling the number of households contacted in the 2009 RECS, EIA has expanded the household data series to include twelve more States: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arizona, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
The larger RECS supports new energy-use comparisons between States:
- Almost half (48%) of households in Wisconsin use separate freezers, but only 14% of households in Massachusetts do the same
- 12% of households in Tennessee use front-loading clothes washers in their home, half as many households as in neighboring Virginia (24%). Front-loading clothes washers use much less water and energy than traditional, top-loading models.
The initial RECS 2009 household energy characteristics data can be found at the link below
EIA will release additional information on home energy characteristics from the RECS 2009 in the coming weeks. Related statistics on energy consumption and expenditures for the same households will be released next year.
Loading...