The 17 million households in the East North Central States consumed 2.0 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2001, one-fifth of the total for U.S. households.






The low share of households using electric heat somewhat offset the effects of a large population, a cold climate, and an aging housing stock, all of which tend to increase electricity consumption.
























Nine out of ten households had access to natural gas, and most used natural gas, rather than electricity, for space and water heating.





A central air-conditioning system in a typical East North Central household used 1,621 kWh in 2001, compared with the U.S. average of 2,796 kWh per household.


























Forty-nine percent of East North Central households reported having electric clothes dryers, compared with a 57-percent share nationwide.



















Through 2007, EIA projects a slight decrease in electricity sales to the East North Central residential sector. Through 2030, electricity sales are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent.














The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance has promoted energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs and has administered rebate programs for refrigerators and clothes washers.

Electricity Consumption | Efficiency Standards | Table D3-1 | Figures | Sources

Note to Readers: The following report presents newly released regional statistics for 2001. The statistics are derived from data collected by the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, a household survey conducted every 4 years by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Similar regional statistics from the 2005 survey are anticipated to be available in 2007.

The East North Central U.S. Census Division consists of five States—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin—which border the Great Lakes in the Midwestern United States. The 17 million households in those States consumed 2.0 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2001, one-fifth of the total for U.S. households. The number of households and the climate were the primary factors affecting the amount of energy consumed. In general, a larger number of households and a colder climate are correlated with a higher level of energy consumption in a given region. The East North Central Division had the second-highest number of households in 2001 (only the South Atlantic had more) and was among the four coldest of the nine U.S. Census Divisions. In addition, the housing stock was older than in most other regions of the country, and older housing generally consumes more energy for space heating, which is one of the most energy-intensive household activities.

In the industrialized Great Lakes region, coal is the primary fuel consumed at electric power plants. The 20 nuclear power plants found in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin also generate significant amounts of electricity for consumption. (Indiana had no nuclear power plants in 2001.) Household electricity consumption in the five East North Central States totaled 157 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2001, almost 14 percent of the U.S. total (Table D3-1). Only one in ten households relied on electricity as the main source of space heat. The low share of households using electric heat somewhat offset the effects of a large population, a cold climate, and an aging housing stock, all of which tend to increase electricity consumption.

Demand for electricity for air-conditioning, typically one of the largest energy end uses, was lower in the East North Central States, where summer weather is normally cooler than it is on average across the country. State prices of electricity per kWh to residential consumers in 2001 ranged from 6.9 cents in Indiana to 8.7 cents in Illinois. The average price in the East North Central Division was 8.1 cents, a little below the U.S. average of 8.6 cents. Personal income per capita of $29,909 was close to the U.S. average of $30.575. Thirty-one percent of East North Central households were eligible for government assistance in paying their energy bills, compared with 32 percent of U.S. households.


EAST NORTH CENTRAL HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2001

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A typical household in the East North Central Division consumed 9,206 kWh of electricity in 2001. That amount was below the national average of 10,656 kWh. The most significant end use was the operation of kitchen appliances.

HVAC and Water Heating

In the East North Central States, the share of residential electricity consumption devoted to space and water heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation was lower than in the United States as a whole: 31 percent of the East North Central total (Figure D3-1), compared with 40 percent of the U.S. total (Figure US-1).

Access to natural gas was more common in the East North Central Division than in any other division. Nine out of ten households had access to natural gas, and most used natural gas, rather than electricity, for space and water heating. Out of the 17 million households, only 1.7 million used electricity as their main energy source for space heating. The 10 billion kWh of electricity consumed for space heating (Figure D3-2) accounted for just 6.4 percent of the Division’s total household electricity consumption in 2001. More than twice as many households – 4.2 million – used electricity for water heating, but the share of households using electric water heaters (25 percent) was still smaller than the share of U.S. households (38 percent). The 9.7 billion kWh consumed for water heating in the East North Central States represented a 6.2-percent share of household electricity consumption for all end uses.

Air-conditioning use of electricity totaled 18.2 billion kWh (Figure D3-2), 12 percent of total household electricity consumption in the East North Central Division. In comparison, air-conditioning accounted for 16 percent of the U.S. total. In the Division, air-conditioning was a smaller end use than refrigerators, whereas it was the single biggest end use of electricity nationwide. One reason that consumption of electricity for air-conditioning was lower in the Division is the normally cooler summer weather. Cooling degree-days, one measure of the need for household cooling, averaged 856 per household, much lower than the 1,407 cooling degree-days per U.S. household. A typical individual room unit in an East North Central household consumed 478 kWh in 2004, compared with an average of 580 kWh per unit for all U.S. households. For central air-conditioning systems, the difference was even greater. A central system in a typical East North Central household used 1,621 kWh in 2001, compared with the U.S. average of 2,796 kWh per household.

Kitchen and Laundry Appliances

The operation of kitchen appliances consumed 47 billion kWh (Figure D3-3) and was the single largest component of electricity consumption in East North Central households in 2001. In the Division, as elsewhere, refrigerators consumed more electricity than all other kitchen appliances combined; separate freezers were the second-highest consumers. In 2001, less electricity was needed to operate a typical refrigerator in the East North Central States than in the United States as a whole: 1,170 kWh per unit, compared with 1,239 kWh per unit. Similarly, less electricity was needed for separate freezers: 914 kWh per unit, compared with 1039 kWh per unit, on average, nationwide. A possible explanation for the difference is the cooler weather in the East North Central States. The age of the appliances (one indicator of their efficiency) appears similar. The shares of refrigerators older than 9 years were 34 percent in the East North Central Division and 32 percent nationwide; the share of old freezers was 56 percent both in the Division and nationwide.

Another way in which the East North Central Division differed from the United States in electricity usage was in the number of electric appliances in a typical household. Dishwashers, electric range tops, and toaster ovens were all less common in East North Central households, while microwave ovens and electric coffee makers were more common.

Clothes dryers used more electricity than any other major U.S. household appliance except refrigerators in 2001. Per-household electricity consumption for clothes drying in the East North Central Division averaged 1,102 kWh in 2001, similar to the U.S. average of 1,079. Electric clothes dryers were less prevalent (partly because natural gas dryers were more prevalent) in Division households than they were nationwide. Even though a smaller share of East North Central households had electric dryers than did U.S. households, however, the shares of electricity consumption were about the same, because U.S. households used relatively more electricity for other activities. Clothes drying accounted for 5.9 percent of the East North Central total and 5.8 percent of the U.S. total.

Lighting and Home Electronics

Lighting and home electronics were both significant electricity end uses in the East North Central Division in 2001. Lighting (including indoor and outdoor uses) consumed 16 billion kWh, a 10-percent share of total household electricity consumption. Home electronics consumed 14 billion kWh (Figure D3-4) and accounted for 8.7 percent of household electricity consumption. There were more color TVs and VCR/DVDs per household in the East North Central Division than in the United States as a whole. Those pieces of equipment accounted for 4.7 percent of household electricity consumption in the Division, compared with a U.S. average of 3.9 percent. PCs and printers were the next biggest consumers of electricity in the home electronics category.


THE OUTLOOK FOR ELECTRICITY PRICES AND CONSUMPTION

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EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (March 2006) provides projections for the East North Central Census Division. The Outlook indicates that, due to weather conditions and continuing economic growth, electricity demand is expected to increase over the short term (from 2005 to 2007) in the United States as a whole and in every U.S. Census Division except the East North Central. The average of retail sales of electricity to the U.S. residential sector is projected to increase 2.3 percent over the period, while sales in the East North Central Division decrease 1.1 percent. In response to higher utility fuel prices, electricity prices in the United States as a whole and in all U.S. Census Divisions, including the East North Central, are expected to increase. The price of electricity sold to the East North Central’s residential sector is projected to rise to 9.2 cents per kWh in 2007, while the national average is projected to rise to 9.9 cents per kWh.

Over the long term, electricity demand in the East North Central States is expected to grow, and prices, when adjusted for inflation, are expected to be slightly lower in 2030 than they were in 2004. EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2006 indicates that, from 2004 to 2030, retail sales of electricity to residential consumers in the East North Central States are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent per year, compared with a projected growth rate of 1.5 percent per year for sales to all U.S. residential consumers. East North Central prices of residential electricity are projected to be 1.6 percent lower in 2030 than in 2004; U.S. prices are projected to be 4.5 percent lower.


EFFICIENCY STANDARDS IN THE EAST NORTH CENTRAL STATES

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The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) is a regional network of organizations that promotes energy efficiency in the Midwest, which includes the East North Central States. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, the Ohio Energy Office, and Wisconsin Energy Bureau were among the founding members. MEEA’s first regional program (2001) promoted energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. MEEA has administered rebate programs for refrigerators and clothes washers and has worked to inform State legislators about the effects of energy-efficient products on energy consumption.

Currently, there are no State efficiency appliance standards in the East North Central States; however, several Federal initiatives address appliance and equipment standards in all States. For example, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 covers residential appliances such as ceiling fans and light kits, dehumidifiers, torchieres, and fluorescent lamps and ballasts. New tax credits for energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in households became effective this year and can be expected to affect residential energy consumption in the East North Central States and elsewhere. Air-conditioners manufactured after January 23, 2006, are required to have a minimum Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 13, which is 30 percent more efficient than the current SEER standard of 10, and, effective January 1, 2007, ENERGY STAR clothes washers will be required to meet new standards. On January 31, 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy published a new 5-year plan to issue efficiency standards for 18 products, including residential furnaces, air-conditioners, dishwashers, and clothes dryers.