1997 Glossary
Account
Classification: The method in which suppliers of electricity,
natural gas, or fuel oil classify and bill their customers. Commonly
used account classifications are "Commercial," "Industrial," and
"Residential." Suppliers' definitions of these terms vary from supplier
to supplier and from the definitions used in RECS. In addition,
the same customer may be classified differently by each of its energy
suppliers. Adequacy
of Insulation: The respondent’s perception of the adequacy
of the housing unit’s insulation.
Aggregate
Ratio: The ratio of two population aggregates (totals). For
example, the aggregate floorspace per household is the ratio of
the total floorspace in each category to the total number of households
in the category.
Air-Conditioning:
One of the five major end-use categories in this report. Cooling
and dehumidifying the air in a building by a refrigeration unit
driven by electricity or natural gas. This definition excludes
fans, blowers, or evaporative cooling systems (swamp coolers)
that are not connected to a refrigeration unit. (See End Use
and Refrigeration Unit.)
Air-Conditioning
Equipment: Either a central system or window or wall units
that cool the air in a housing unit by a refrigeration unit driven
by electricity or natural gas. This definition excludes fans,
blowers, or evaporative cooling systems (swamp coolers) that are
not connected to a refrigeration unit. Air-conditioning units
that were not in working condition or were not used are included
if they are in place in the housing unit. If the household did
not use its air-conditioning equipment during the summer of 1997,
consumption and expenditures data were not imputed for air-conditioning.
(See Room- Air Conditioner.)
Appliance
Combination: Refers to the stub on the appliance end- use
consumption table. Households are characterized as using or not
using a particular combination of appliances.
Appliance
Efficiency Standards: The National Appliance Energy Conservation
Act of 1987 established minimum efficiency standards for major
home appliances, including furnaces, central and room air- conditioners,
refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, dishwashers, and heat
pumps. Most of the standards were effective in 1990. The standards
for clothes washers, dishwashers, and ranges were effective in
1988 because they required only minor changes in product design,
such as eliminating pilot lights and requiring cold water rinse
options. The standards for central airconditioners and furnaces
were effective in 1992. The standards for refrigerators were effective
in 1993; virtually no refrigerator models on the market in 1990
met the 1993 standards.
Appliances:
One of the five major end-use categories in this report. This
definition includes appliances and lights used in the home during
the year, including those loaned to the householder for regular
use. Appliances not currently being used are not counted unless
they are temporarily out of working order and a repair person
has been called or the appliance has been taken to a repair shop.
Refrigerators are a separate end use. (See End Use.)
Authorization
Form: The one-page form signed by respondents that gives their
energy suppliers permission to release information about the energy
used during a specified reporting period. The form contains the
name of each energy supplier.
Automatic
Set-Back or Clock Thermostat: A thermostat that can be set
to turn the heating/ cooling system off and on at predetermined
times.
Average:
The simple arithmetic average for a population; that is, the
sum of all the values in a population divided by the size of the
population. Population means are estimated by computing the weighted
sum of the sample values, then dividing by the sum of the sample
weights. (See Weight.)
Average
Age of Appliances: Respondents were provided five categories
to determine the age of selected appliances (central and room
air-conditioners, first and second refrigerators, freezers, water
heaters and their main heating system). The midpoint of each category
was used to estimate an average age of the appliances. The midpoints
for each age category were as follows:
-
Age
Category |
Midpoint
|
Less
than 2 years |
1 |
2
to 4 years |
3 |
5
to 9 years |
7 |
10
to 19 years |
14.5 |
20
years or more |
20 |
Backup
Fuel: In a central heat pump system the fuel used in the furnace
when the outdoor temperature drops below the level that is feasible
to operate a heat pump. (See Heat Pump).
Basement:
An enclosed space in which a person can walk upright under
all or part of the building.
Bathroom:
A full bathroom contains a sink with running water, a flush
toilet, and a bathtub or shower. A half bathroom contains a toilet
or bathtub or shower.
Bedroom:
Room intended for sleeping, even if not presently used for sleeping.
Number of bedrooms are those that would be listed as descriptive
of the apartment or house if it were on the market for sale or
rent. A one-room efficiency or studio apartment has no bedrooms.
Billing
Period: The time between meter readings or fuel deliveries.
It does not refer to the time when the bill was sent or when the
payment was to have been received. In some cases, the billing
period is the same as the billing cycle that corresponds closely
(within several days) to meter-reading dates. For fuel oil and
LPG, the billing period is the number of days between fuel deliveries.
Boiler:
A type of space-heating equipment consisting of a vessel or
tank where heat produced from the combustion of such fuels as
natural gas, fuel oil, or coal is used to generate hot water or
steam.
Btu
(British thermal unit): A Btu is defined as the amount of
energy required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water
by 1 degree Fahrenheit, at normal atmospheric pressure. Energy
consumption is expressed in Btu in this report to allow for consumption
comparisons among fuels that are measured in different units.
(See Metric Conversion Factors.)
Btu
Conversion Factors: The Btu conversion factors used in this
report are as follows:
Built-In Electric Units: An individual-resistance electric- heating
unit that is permanently installed in the floors, walls, ceilings,
or baseboards and is part of the electrical installation of the
building. Electric space-heating devices that are plugged into
an electric socket or outlet are not considered built-in.
Cash and Carry:
Kerosene, fuel oil, or bottled gas (tank or propane) purchased
with cash, check, or credit card and taken home by the purchaser.
The purchaser provides the container or pays for the container.
CDD: See Cooling
Degree-Days (CDD).
Ceiling Fan:
Fans permanently installed on the ceiling used to ventilate a
room.
Census Region
and Division: A geographic area consisting of several States defined
by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (See
the map in Appendix F.) The States are grouped into four regions
and nine divisions.
Region Division
States
Northeast New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island
Middle Atlantic New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
Midwest East North Central Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio, and Wisconsin
West North Central Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
South South Atlantic Delaware, the District of Columbia,
Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia,
and West Virginia
East South Central Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,
and Tennessee
West South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
and Texas
West Mountain
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming
Pacific Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,
and Washington
Central Air-Conditioning:
In the detailed tables, a category including households that use
both room/ wall air-conditioners and central air-conditioning.
(See Air-Conditioning Equipment.)
Central City:
Usually one or more legally incorporated cities within the Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) that is significantly large by itself or
large relative to the largest city in the MSA. Additional criteria
for being classified "central city" include having at
least 75 jobs for each 100 employed residents and having at least
40 percent of the resident workers employed within the city limits.
Every MSA has at least one central city, which is usually the
largest city. Central cities are commonly regarded as relatively
large communities with a denser population and a higher concentration
of economic activities than the outlying or suburban areas of
the MSA. Suburban are those parts of the MSA that are not designated
as central city. In this report, the central city and suburban
areas are called urban; in previous RECS reports, these components
were referred to as metropolitan areas. (See Metropolitan Statistical
Area, Suburban, and Urban.)
Central Warm-Air
Furnace: A type of space-heating equipment where a central combustor
or resistance unit generally using natural gas, fuel oil, or electricity,
providing warm air through ducts leading to the various rooms.
Heat pumps are not included in this category. A forced-air furnace
is one in which a fan forces air through the ducts. In a gravity
furnace, air is circulated by gravity relying on the natural flow
of warm air up and cold air down; the warm air rises through ducts
and the cold air falls through ducts that return it to the furnace
to be reheated, thus completing the circulation cycle.
City: A classification
based on respondent’s judgment. (See Urban/ Rural Location.)
Climate Zone:
One of five climatically distinct areas, defined by long-term
weather conditions affecting the heating and cooling loads in
buildings. The zones were developed by the Energy Consumption
Division from seven distinct climate categories originally identified
by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for the U. S. Department
of Energy and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The zones were determined according to the 30-year average (1951-
1980) of the annual heating and cooling degree-days (base 65 degrees
Fahrenheit). The zones are defined as follows:
Climate
Zone Average Annual Cooling
Degree-Days Average Annual Heating
Degree- Days
1 Under 2,000 Over 7,000
2 Under 2,000 5,500 to 7,000
3 Under 2,000 4,000 to 5,499
4 Under 2,000 Under 4,000
5 2,000 or More Under 4,000
An individual household was assigned to a climate zone according
to the 30-year average annual degree-days for an appropriate nearby
weather station. (See Cooling Degree-Days [CDD] ) and Heating
Degree-Days [HDD].)
Clothes Dryer:
An appliance that dries laundry through the application of heat
and rapid air movement. The hot air used is typically heated by
electricity or gas (either natural gas or LPG).
Clothes Washer:
An appliance for automatically cleaning home laundry. It has an
opening on its top or its front offering access to the washer
tub. An agitator, located within the tub, moves the articles to
be cleaned through the wash water. The machine is powered by an
electric motor connected to the tub and agitator via a transmission,
clutches, and linkages. In front- loading machines, the articles
are moved by a rotating tube rather than an agitator.
Coal: A combustible
mineral substance (carbonized vegetable matter). In this report,
the term includes its derivative, coke, which is formed by destructive
distillation or imperfect combustion. Data on the use of coal
were collected but consumption and expenditure data were not collected
.
Conditional
End- Use Intensity (CEUI): A measure of how intensely energy is
used that allows comparisons across housing units and households
by adjusting either the end-use consumption or expenditures for
the effects of certain characteristics, such as floorspace, degree-days,
or household members for households that use an energy source
for a particular end use. In the case of space-heating intensity,
only the heated floorspace and heating degree-days are used. The
air-conditioning intensity uses only the cooled floorspace and
cooling degree-days. The water-heating intensity adjusts consumption
and expenditures for the effects of the number of household members
on water-heating consumption.
Conditional
Energy Intensity: A measure of how intensely energy is used that
allows comparisons across housing units and households by adjusting
either energy consumption or expenditures for the effects of certain
characteristics, such as weather, size of unit, and number of
household members for households that use a particular energy
source. (See Conditional End-Use Intensity and Intensity.)
Condo Fee:
In condominiums, the fee paid to the homeowners’ association for
maintenance, management, insurance, and, in some cases, utilities.
Condominium:
An apartment or house owned in a project of similar units. The
owner has his/her own deed and, most likely, his/her mortgage
on the unit. The owner also holds a common or joint ownership
on all common areas, such as hallways, entrances, and elevators.
Ownership may cover single-family houses, including row houses
and townhouses, as well as apartments.
Consumption:
The amount of electricity or natural gas used by, or delivered
to, a household during a 365-day period. For fuel oil, kerosene,
and LPG, the quantity represents fuel purchased, not fuel consumed.
If the level of fuel in the tank was the same at the beginning
and end of the annual period, then the quantity consumed would
be the same as the quantity purchased. Measurements or reports
of the actual level of fuel in the tank were not included in the
RECS data collection.
Control Total:
The number of elements in the population or a subset of the population.
The sample weights for the observed elements in a survey are adjusted
so that they add up to the control total. The value of a control
total is not obtained from the survey; it is obtained from an
outside source. In this report, the control totals are obtained
from the Current Population Survey. (See Appendix A, ”How the
Survey was Conducted.”)
Conversion
Factors: See Btu Conversion Factors and Metric Conversion Factors.
Cooking Stove:
A stove built for preparing food. In this survey, it may be used
as the main heating equipment. (See Heating Equipment.)
Cooling Degree-Days
(CDD): A measure of how hot a location was over a period of time,
relative to a base temperature. In this report, the base temperature
is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and the period of time is one year.
The cooling degree-days for a single day is the difference between
that day's average temperature and the base temperature if the
daily average is greater than the base; it is zero if the daily
average temperature is less than or equal to the base temperature.
The number of cooling degree-days for a longer period of time
is the sum of the daily cooling degree-days for the days in that
period. Annual cooling degrees-days averaged over 30 years from
1961 to 1990 are called Normal Cooling Degree-days. Cooling degree-days
can also be calculated by using a base temperature other than
65 degrees. The computation is performed in an analogous manner.
(See Climate Zone.)
Cord of Wood:
An amount of wood measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet, or 128
cubic feet.
Crawl Space:
Space between the ground and the floor of a house in which a person
cannot walk upright. An enclosed crawl space is one not accessible
from the outside of the house (except by a door or window) because
the walls of the crawl space protect it from the weather. A crawl
space "open to the outside" is accessible from outside
the house, even though it may be covered by a trellis or lathwork
or some kind of brickwork that leaves space for circulation of
air.
Cubic Foot
(cf): As a natural gas measure, the volume of gas contained in
a cube with an edge that is 1 foot long at standard temperature
and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.73 pounds standard
per square inch). (See Btu Conversion Factors and Natural Gas.)
Current Dollars:
Unless otherwise noted, all dollar values presented in this report
are expressed in the current dollars at the time of data collection.
The dollar amounts are not directly comparable across time periods
since they have not been adjusted for the effects of inflation.
In contrast, real dollars are current dollars that have been adjusted
for the effects of inflation.
Dishwasher:
A built-in or portable appliance used for automatically cleaning
dishware, utensils, and cutlery. The national appliance efficiency
standards required that, by 1988, dishwashers be equipped with
an option to dry without heat.
Electric Air-Conditioning
Intensity: In this report, the ratio of end- use electric air-conditioning
consumption or expenditures to square footage of cooled floorspace
and cooling degree-days (CDD) (base 65 degrees Fahrenheit). Only
the CDD and square feet for households that have air-conditioning
equipment are included in the ratio. The intensity provides a
way of comparing different types of housing units and households
by controlling for differences in housing unit size and weather
conditions. The square footage of cooled floorspace is equal to
the product of the total square footage times the ratio of the
number of rooms that are cooled to the total number of rooms.
If the entire housing unit is cooled, the cooled floorspace is
the same as the total floorspace. The ratio is calculated on a
weighted, aggregate basis.
Electric Pump
for Well Water: A pump that forces the water from a well below
ground level up into the water pipes that circulate through the
house. When this pump is not working, there is a limited supply
of running water in the house.
Electricity:
Metered electric power delivered by a central utility company
to a residence via power lines. Because there are no volumetric
measures of electricity as with the fossil fuels, electricity
is measured as the amount of power used at any instant (demand
expressed in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW)) or as power used over
a given time (consumption expressed in kWh). The heat equivalent
for electricity is 3,412 Btu per kWh, but this is a derived form
of energy and does not represent the amount of energy needed to
generate the electricity and transmit it to the building. Generation
and transmission requires about 3 times 3,412 Btu per kWh, or
11,620 Btu per kWh. Energy is used in preparing other fuels for
consumption from their condition as mined and delivering them
to a site for use, but these amounts of energy are relatively
small compared to the Btu value of the fuel consumed. (See Primary
Electricity and Btu Conversion Factors.)
Electricity
Paid by Household: The household paid the electric utility company
directly for all household uses of electricity (such as water
heating, space heating, air-conditioning, cooking, lighting, and
operating appliances.) Bills paid by a third party are not counted
as paid by the household.
Eligible for
Federal Assistance: Households are categorized as eligible for
Federal energy assistance if their income is below the Federal
standard. The Federal standard is 150 percent of the poverty line
or 60 percent of statewide median income, whichever is the higher
income. Individual States can set the standard at a lower level
than the Federal one. (See Poverty Line.)
End Use: A
function for which fuels (energy sources) are used in the household.
Five major energy end-use categories were estimated: space heating,
air-conditioning, water heating, refrigerators, and appliances.
The amount of energy used for these end uses is estimated by means
of a nonlinear regression technique, rather than by data that
are actually measured. (See Space Heating, Air-Conditioning, Water
Heating, Refrigerators, and Appliances.)
Energy Source:
A type of energy or fuel used by the household. Electricity is
included as a fuel. The energy sources identified for this report
are electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum
gas (propane), wood, coal, and solar. The major fuels are electricity,
natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
(See Electricity, Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, Kerosene, Liquefied Petroleum
Gas , Wood, Coal, and Solar Energy.)
Energy Supplier:
A company that provides electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene,
or LPG to the household. (See Authorization Form and Appendix
A, "How the Survey Was Conducted.")
Estimated
Bill: A set of charges for a fuel, calculated by the supplier
when the meter is not read. The estimate may be based on one or
more of the following factors: past usage, usage by similar households,
and weather data.
Evaporative
Cooler (Swamp Cooler): A type of cooling equipment using the evaporation
of water to cool air. This type of equipment is commonly found
in warm, dry climates. Evaporative cooling units do not cool air
by use of a refrigeration unit, so for this report they are not
considered air- conditioning equipment, and are listed with appliances.
Expenditures:
Money spent for the energy used in, or delivered to, a housing
unit during a given period of time. For this report, all expenditure
statistics are presented on an annual basis for calendar year
1997. The total dollar amount includes State and local taxes but
excludes merchandise, repairs, or special service charges. Electricity
and natural gas expenditures are for the amount of those energy
sources consumed. Fuel oil, kerosene, and LPG expenditures are
for the amount of fuel purchased, which may differ from the amount
of fuel consumed. For households that do not pay their fuel supplier
directly, the expenditures for fuels are estimated and included
in the tables. (See Consumption.)
Expenditures
as a Percentage of Income: The annual household energy expenditures
divided by the household’s annual income. The median percentage
of income is the percentage spent on energy for the household,
for the middle income value in the population when the households
are ranked by the percentage they spend on energy. That is, 50
percent of the weighted households in the cell spend a lower percentage
on energy than the median value.
Facsimile
Machine (FAX): Equipment that transmits and receives printed material
over telephone lines.
Fireplace:
Usually a masonry unit which burns wood, is built into the wall
of a house and has a permanent chimney. Fireplaces in mobile homes
are included. Fireplaces may have glass doors or metal shields
to cover the opening into the room. Included are fireplaces that
use equipment fueled by natural gas or LPG. These gas fireplaces
may or may not have a flue to the outside. Accessories, such as
convective grates or radiant grates, may be present to increase
the efficiency of the fireplace. A free-standing fireplace that
can be detached from its chimney is a heating stove.
Floor, Wall,
or Pipeless Furnace: Space-heating equipment consisting of a ductless
combustor or resistance unit, having an enclosed chamber where
fuel is burned or where electrical-resistance heat is generated
to warm the rooms of a building. A floor furnace is located below
the floor and delivers heated air to the room immediately above
or (if under a partition) to the room on each side. A wall furnace
is installed in a partition or in an outside wall and delivers
heated air to the rooms on one or both sides of the wall. A pipeless
furnace is installed in a basement and delivers heated air through
a large register in the floor of the room or hallway immediately
above.
Floorspace:
The floor area of the housing unit that is enclosed from the weather.
For this report, the following are included: basements, whether
or not they contain finished space; finished and/or heated space
in attics; and garages, if they have a wall in common with the
house. Not included are: crawl spaces, even if they are enclosed
from the weather; and sheds and other buildings that are not attached
to the house. For this survey, floorspace was estimated using
a regression equation developed with the 1993 RECS data. The 1997
RECS estimated square footage tends to be larger than the 1993
measured square footage.
Heated Floorspace:
the area that is heated during most of the winter season as estimated
by the respondent. Rooms that are shut off during the heating
season to save fuel are not counted as heated square footage.
Attached garages that are unheated and unheated areas in basements
and attics are not counted as heated square feet.
Cooled Floorspace:
the total floorspace times the percentage of rooms that are cooled
over total rooms. This method for calculating cooled floorspace
is different from the method used in Housing Characteristics 1993
that used heated floorspace rather than total floorspace.
Freezer: A
cabinet designed as a unit for storing food at temperatures of
about 0 degrees Fahrenheit and having a refrigeration unit driven
by an electric motor. This is a separate appliance, not part of
the refrigerator and can be an upright model (vertical cabinet
with the door opening outward) or a chest model (horizontal cabinet
with the door opening upward).
Frost-Free:
A freezer, either separate from or within a refrigerator, that
automatically defrosts usually on 12- or 24- hour cycles.
Fuel: A type
of energy or fuel used by the household. Electricity is included
as a fuel. The fuels identified for this report are electricity,
natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, LPG (propane), wood, coal, and
solar. The major fuels are electricity, natural gas, fuel oil,
kerosene, and LPG. (See Electricity, Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, Kerosene,
Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Wood, Coal, and Solar Energy.)
Fuel Oil:
A liquid petroleum product less volatile than gasoline that is
burned for space- heating or water- heating purposes. No. 1 distillate
fuel oil is used mostly as a blending stock to assure that heavier
grades of fuel flow under severe cold weather conditions. No.
2 fuel oil is the most common form of heating oil. No. 2 distillate
collectively refers to No. 2 heating oil and No. 2 diesel fuel.
Although these products are not precisely identical, they are
essentially interchangeable in most applications. No. 4 distillate
is a blend of No. 2 and No. 5 or No. 6 residual fuel oil, used
in large, stationary diesel engines and boilers equipped with
fuel preheating equipment.
Fuel Oil Paid
by Household: The household paid the supplier directly for all
household uses of fuel oil or kerosene (such as space heating
or water heating). Bills paid by a third party are not counted
as paid by the household.
Furnace: Space-heating
equipment consisting of an enclosed chamber where fuel is burned
or electrical resistance is used to heat air directly, without
using steam or hot water. The warm air is for heating, and is
distributed throughout the house, typically by air ducts.
Furnace Fan:
A fan that forces air through the ducts of a central warm-air
furnace.
Garage: A
space large enough to accommodate a car, with a door opening at
least 6 feet wide and 7 feet high.
Gas Air-Conditioning:
Cooling and dehumidifying the air in a building by a refrigeration
unit using natural gas (either natural gas or LPG) to isolate
the refrigerant. (See Refrigeration Unit.)
Gas Paid by
Household: The household paid the utility company directly for
all household uses of natural gas (such as water heating, space
heating, air-conditioning, cooking, and operating appliances,
including outdoor gas lights). Bills paid by a third party are
not counted as being paid by the householder.
Group Quarters:
Living arrangement for institutional groups containing 10 or more
unrelated persons. Such quarters are excluded from the RECS. Group
quarters are typically found in hospitals, nursing homes, military
barracks, halfway houses, college dormitories, fraternity and
sorority houses, convents, monasteries, shelters, jails, and correctional
institutions. Group quarters may also be found in houses or apartments
shared by 10 or more unrelated persons. Group quarters are often
equipped with a dining area for residents. (See Housing Unit.)
HDD: See Heating
Degree-Days (HDD).
Heat Pump
(Reverse Cycle System): A year-round heating and air-conditioning
system in which refrigeration equipment supplies both heating
and cooling through ducts leading to individual rooms. A heat
pump generally consists of a compressor, both indoor and outdoor
coils, and a thermostat. In the RECS, all heat pumps are considered
to be electric.
Heated Aquarium:
A tank, usually made of glass, containing fish and holding 20
or more gallons of heated water. A 20- gallon tank measures approximately
30 inches by 2 inches by 12 inches.
Heated Floorspace
(estimated): In this survey, the heated floorspace of the housing
unit as estimated by the respondent. (See Floorspace.)
Heating Degree-Days
(HDD): A measure of how cold a location was over a period of time,
relative to a base temperature. In this report, the base temperature
used is 65 degrees Fahrenheit and the period of time is one year.
The heating degree-days for a single day is the difference between
the base temperature and the day's average temperature if the
daily average is less than the base, and zero if the daily average
temperature is greater than or equal to the base temperature.
The heating degree-days for a longer period of time is the sum
of the daily heating degree-days for days in that period. Average
daily temperature is the mean of the maximum and minimum temperature
for a 24-hour period. Heating degree- days can also be calculated
by using a base temperature other than 65 degrees. The computation
is performed in an analogous manner. (See Climate Zone.)
Heating Equipment:
The equipment used for heating ambient air in the housing unit,
such as central warm-air furnace; heat pump; built-in electric
units; steam or hot- water system; floor, wall or pipeless furnace;
heating stove; room heater; fireplace; or portable heater. The
main space-heating equipment is reported as such even if it was
built for preparing food. (See: Central Warm-Air Furnace; Heat
Pump; Built-In Electric Units; Steam or Hot-Water System; Floor,
Wall or Pipeless Furnace; Heating Stove Burning Wood, Coal, and
Coke; and Room Heater Burning Gas, Oil, and Kerosene.)
Heating Stove
Burning Wood, Coal, and Coke: Any free-standing box or controlled-draft
stove; or a stove installed in a fireplace opening, using the
chimney of the fireplace. Stoves are made of cast iron, sheet
metal, or plate steel. Free-standing fireplaces that can be detached
from their chimneys are considered heating stoves.
Hispanic Descent:
The question, "Is the householder of Spanish or Hispanic
origin or descent," as well as the question on “origin” was
determined by the respondent without any assistance from the interviewer.
The interviewer was trained to record the respondent's answer.
Hot-Deck Imputation:
A statistical procedure for deriving a probable response to a
questionnaire item for which a response is missing. To perform
the procedure, an analyst sorts the households by variables related
to the missing item. Thus, a series of sort categories are formed,
which are internally homogeneous with respect to the sort variables.
Within each category, households for which the questionnaire item
is not missing are randomly selected to serve as "donors"
to supply values for the missing item of "recipient"
households. (See Appendix A, ”How the Survey Was Conducted.”)
Hot Tub: A
water-filled wood, plastic, or ceramic container in which up to
12 people can lounge. Normally equipped with a heater that heats
the water from 80 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. It may also have
jets to bubble the water. The water is not drained after each
use. An average- size hot tub holds 200 to 400 gallons of water.
All reported hot tubs were assumed to include an electric pump.
Hot Tubs are also called Spas or Jacuzzis.
Household:
A family, an individual, or a group of up to nine unrelated persons,
occupying the same housing unit. "Occupy" means that
the housing unit was the person's usual or permanent place of
residence at the time of the first field contact. Household members
include babies, lodgers, boarders, employed persons who live in
the housing unit, and persons who usually live in the household
but are away traveling or in a hospital. Not included as household
members are: (1) persons who are normally members of the household
but who were away from home as college students or members of
the armed forces at the time of the interview; (2) persons temporarily
visiting with the household if they have a place of residence
elsewhere; (3) persons who take their meals with the household
but usually lodge or sleep elsewhere; (4) domestic employees or
other persons employed by the household who do not sleep in the
same housing unit; (5) or former members of the household who
have become inmates of correctional, penal, or mental institutions,
homes for the aged or needy, nursing homes, hospitals, hospices,
convents or monasteries, or other places in which residents may
remain for long periods of time. By definition, in this report,
the number of households is the same as the number of occupied
housing units. (See Primary Residence.)
Household
Income Category: The income grouping for the total combined income
from all sources (before taxes and deductions) of all household
members during the 12 months prior to the interview, regardless
of whether they were living there at the time of the interview.
Sources of income include the following: wages, salaries, tips,
commissions, interest, dividends, rental income, Social Security
or railroad retirement, pensions, food stamps, Aid to Families
with Dependent Children, unemployment compensation, Supplemental
Security Income, General Assistance and other public assistance.
Household
Member: See Household.
Householder:
The person (or one of the people) in whose name the home is owned
or rented. If there is no lease or similar agreement, or if the
person who owns the home or pays the rent does not live in the
housing unit, the householder is the person responsible for paying
the household bills, or whoever is generally in charge.
Housing Unit:
A house, an apartment, a group of rooms, or a single room if it
is either occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living
quarters by a family, an individual, or a group of one to nine
unrelated persons. Separate living quarters means the occupants
(1) live and eat separately from other persons in the house or
apartment and (2) have direct access from the outside of the building
or through a common hall--that is, they can get to it without
going through someone else's living quarters. Housing units do
not include group quarters where 10 or more unrelated persons
live. Hotel and motel rooms are considered housing units if occupied
as the usual or permanent place of residence. (See Primary Residence,
Group Quarters, Year-Round Units, Seasonal Units, and Migratory
Units.)
Housing Unit
Record Sheet: A form (pink sheet) completed by interviewers for
each housing unit assigned for contact. The type of housing unit
is recorded, as well as information about each visit.
Intensity:
This is a method used to make comparisons of how intensely energy
is used across housing units, time, regions of the country, and/
or fuels by adjusting either the energy consumption or expenditures,
for the effects of various housing unit and/or household characteristics,
such as size of the housing unit, climate, and number of household
members. (See Conditional End-Use Intensity, and Conditional Energy
Intensity.)
Jacuzzi: See
Hot Tub.
Kerosene:
A distilled product of oil or coal with the generic name kerosene,
having properties similar to those of No. 1 fuel oil. It is sometimes
sold under names of "range oil," "stove oil,"
or "coal oil."
Kerosene Paid
by Household: The household paid the fuel supplier directly for
all household uses of kerosene (such as water heating and space
heating). Bills paid by a third party are not counted as paid
by the household.
Kilowatthour
(kWh): A unit of work or energy, measured as 1 kilowatt (1,000
watts) of power expended for 1 hour. One kWh is equivalent to
3,412 Btu. (See Btu and Btu Conversion Factors.)
Laser Printer
for Computer (not dot matrix): A computer printer that uses toner,
a black powder, for the printer’s ink and provides high quality
printing.
Lighting:
An electricity energy end use, sometimes reported separately,
but more commonly combined with appliances end use in this report.
Lighting is defined as the energy used to supply electricity to
light bulbs inside and outside of the housing unit. All types
of light bulbs are included: incandescent, fluorescent, compact
fluorescent, halogen, and high-intensity-discharge (HID). (See
Appliances and End Use.)
LIHEAP: See
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG): Any fuel gas, such as propane or butane,
supplied to a residence in liquid form. It is usually delivered
by tank trucks and stored near the residence in a tank or cylinder
until used. Propane was the most common liquefied petroleum gas
supplied to RECS households.
Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): This program provides
assistance to eligible low-income households in paying the costs
for heating or cooling their housing unit. The States administer
the program using funds provided by the Federal government.
LPG Paid by
Household: The household paid the fuel supplier directly for all
household uses of LPG (such as water heating, space heating, air-conditioning,
operating appliances, and cooking (other than cooking on an outdoor
grill, which is excluded). Bills paid by a third party are not
counted as paid by the household.
Main: Used
Most, as in "Main Heating Equipment," e. g., is the
equipment used most for space heating.
Master-Metering:
Measurement of electricity or natural gas consumption of several
tenants or housing units using a single meter. That is, one meter
measures the energy usage for several households collectively.
RECS identifies households that pay their own fuel bills but does
not specifically identify a building as "master metered."
Mean Indoor
Temperature: The "usual" temperature inside the housing
unit. If different sections of the house are kept at different
temperatures, the reported temperature is for the section where
the people are. A thermostat setting is accepted if the temperature
is not known.
Metric Conversion
Factors: Estimates are presented in customary U. S. units. Floorspace
estimates may be converted to metric units by using this relationship:
1 square foot is approximately equal to .0929 square meters. Energy
estimates may be converted to metric units by using this relationship:
1 Btu is approximately equal to 1,055 joules; 1 kWh equals 3,600,000
joules; and 278 kWh are approximately equal to 1 gigajoule.
Metropolitan:
See Urban.
Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA): As defined by the U. S. Office of Management
and Budget in 1993: “a county or group of contiguous counties
that contain (1) at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more,
or (2) an urbanized area of at least 50,000 inhabitants and a
total MSA population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England).”
The contiguous counties are included in an MSA if, according to
certain criteria, they are essentially metropolitan in character
and are socially and economically integrated with the central
city. In New England, MSAs consist of towns and cities, rather
than counties.
Metropolitan
Statistical Area Status: In the detailed tables, a category including
housing units located in urban (central city and suburban) and
rural areas as defined by the U. S. Office of Management and Budget
in 1993. (See Metropolitan Statistical Area, Urban, and Rural.)
Microwave
Oven: A household cooking appliance consisting of a compartment
designed to cook or heat food by means of microwave energy. It
may also have as additional features, browning coil and convection
heating/cooking.
Migratory
Units: Housing units intended for occupancy by migratory workers
employed in farm work during the crop season. It is excluded from
the RECS if it is not the primary residence for more than 6 months
of the year. (See Primary Residence.)
Mobile Home:
A housing unit built on a movable chassis and moved to the site.
It may be placed on a permanent or temporary foundation and may
contain one room or more. If rooms are added to the structure,
it is considered a single- family housing unit. A manufactured
house assembled on site is a single- family housing unit, not
a mobile home.
Modem: A device
connecting a personal computer to a telephone line that permits
communication with computers or other devices outside the housing
unit.
More Than
One May Apply: This phrase indicates overlapping categories in
a row stub. A particular household may be represented in more
than one line. In general, row stubs without this phrase are exclusive.
Multifamily
(2 to 4 units): A unit in a building with two to four housing
units--a structure that is divided into living quarters for two,
three, or four families or households in which one household lives
above another. This category also includes houses originally intended
for occupancy by one family (or for some other use) that have
since been converted to separate dwellings for two to four families.
Typical arrangements in these types of living quarters are separate
apartments downstairs and upstairs or one apartment on each of
three or four floors.
Multifamily
(5 or more units): A unit in a building with five or more housing
units--a structure that contains living quarters for five or more
households or families and in which one household lives above
another.
Multistage
Area Probability Sample: A sample design executed in stages with
geographic "clusters" of sampling units selected at
each stage. This procedure reduces survey expense while maintaining
representative national coverage.
Natural Gas:
Hydrocarbon gas (mostly methane) delivered as an energy source
to individual buildings by pipelines from a central utility company.
Natural gas does not refer to LPG. A few households were supplied
by a privatelyowned gas well.
Nonmetropolitan:
See Rural.
Normal Degree-Days:
Annual cooling or heating degree- days averaged over 30 years
(from 1961 to 1990).
Occupied Housing
Unit: A unit with someone living in it as his/her usual or permanent
place of residence at the time of the interviewer’s first visit.
Origin: The
householder’s primary racial background as determined by the respondent.
For this question, as well as the Hispanic descent question, the
interviewer just recorded the respondent’s answer. The word “race”
was not used in either the questionnaire or the instructions,
"Which of the groups on this exhibit best describes the householder?"
The groups of origin included: white, black or Afro- American,
Native American, Alaskan native, Asian, and Pacific Islander.
Oven: An appliance
which is an enclosed compartment supplied with heat and used for
cooking food. Toaster ovens are not considered ovens. The range
stove top or burners and the oven are considered two separate
appliances, although they are often purchased as one appliance.
Owned/Rented:
The relationship of a housing unit's occupants to the structure
itself, not the land on which the structure is located. A household
is classified as "owned" when the owner or co-owner
is a household member and the housing unit is either fully paid
for or mortgaged. A household is classified as "rented"
even if the rent is paid by someone not living in the unit. “Rent
free” means the unit is not owned or being bought and no money
is paid or contracted for rent. Such units are usually provided
in exchange for services rendered or as an allowance or favor
from a relative or friend not living in the unit. Unless shown
separately, rent-free households are grouped with rented households.
Ownership:
See Owned/Rented.
Pay for Electricity
for Air-Conditioning: Household uses electricity for air-conditioning
and pays directly to a utility company for that use.
Payment Method
for Utilities: Method by which fuel suppliers or utility companies
were paid for all electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene,
or LPG used by a household. Households that paid the utility company
directly were classified in this survey as "all paid by household."
Households that paid directly for at least one but not all of
their fuels and that had at least one fuel charge included in
the rent were classified as "some paid, some included in
rent." Households for which all fuels used were included
in the rent were classified as "all included in rent."
Some households were classified as "other method," if
they did not fall into any of those three categories. These are
households for which fuel bills were paid by a social service
agency or a relative, and households that paid for some of their
fuels used but paid for other fuels through another arrangement.
Personal Computer:
Included as an appliance in RECS, a microcomputer for producing
written, programmed, or coded material, playing games, or doing
calculations. Lap-top and notebook computers are excluded.
Portable Electric
Heater: A heater that uses electricity and that can be picked
up and moved.
Portable Kerosene
Heater: A heater that uses kerosene and that can be picked up
and moved.
Poverty Line:
Low-income classifications to which certain households are assigned.
"Below 100 percent of poverty" encompasses a group of
households with incomes below the poverty level as defined by
the U. S. Bureau of the Census and the Office of Management and
Budget. "Below 125 percent of poverty" includes a group
of households with incomes below 125 percent of the poverty level.
These groups of the poor and near-poor represent alternative levels
for defining poverty. The poverty line varies with the number
of family members in the household and the income of the entire
family.
Primary Electricity:
A measurement of electricity that includes the approximate amount
of energy used to generate electricity. To approximate the adjusted
amount of electricity, the site-value of the electricity is multiplied
by a factor of three. This conversion factor of three is a rough
approximation of the Btu value of raw fuels used to generate electricity
in a steam- generation power plant. In this report, electricity
is represented as site energy. (See Site Energy and Btu Conversion
Factors.)
Primary Residence:
A housing unit in which a householder spends the largest part
of the calendar year; and is the householder's usual or permanent
place of residence. This would normally be a year- round housing
unit. It would generally exclude migratory and seasonal units.
However, if a seasonal unit happened to be occupied for half of
the year by the householder, that unit would be considered the
primary residence. (See Housing Unit and Seasonal Unit.)
Primary Sampling
Unit (PSU): A sampling unit selected at the first stage in multistage
area probability sampling. A PSU typically consists of one to
several contiguous counties--for example, a metropolitan area
with surrounding suburban counties. PSU's can be composed of one
or more MSAs or can be composed of rural counties.
Propane: See
Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
Public Housing:
Housing units owned by a local housing authority or other local
public agency, such as a housing and redevelopment authority or
a housing development agency. These organizations receive subsidies
from the Federal or State government, but the local agency owns
the property. To live in such a project, one must apply to the
local housing authority.
Quadrillion:
The quantity 1,000,000,000,000,000 = (10 ). 15
Race: See
Origin.
Radiator:
A heating unit that is usually exposed to view within the room
or space to be heated and that transfers heat by radiation to
objects within visible range and by conduction to the surrounding
air, in turn, is circulated by natural convection. The unit is
usually fueled by steam or hot water.
Range: The
range burners or stove top and the oven are considered two separate
appliances. Counted also with range tops are stand-alone "cook
tops."
Refrigeration
Unit: A unit used to produce cooling in refrigerators, freezers,
and air-conditioning equipment. In a typical refrigeration unit,
electricity powers a motor that runs a pump to compress a refrigerant
to maintain proper pressure. (A substance that changes between
liquid and gaseous forms under desirable temperature and pressure
conditions.) Heat from the compressed liquid is removed and discharged
from the unit, and the refrigerant evaporates when pressure is
reduced. As it evaporates, it picks up heat and returns to the
compressor to repeat the cycle.
A few refrigeration
units use gas (either natural gas or LPG) in an absorption process
that does not use a compressor. The gas is burned to heat a chemical
solution in which the refrigerant has been absorbed. Heating drives
off the refrigerant, which is later condensed and evaporates by
released pressure and, in turn, picks up heat. The evaporated
refrigerant is then changed back into the chemical solution and
the heat is removed from the solution and discharged as waste
heat; then the process repeats itself.
Refrigerators:
A cabinet designed for cooling food at temperatures above 32 degrees
Fahrenheit. Most also have a second compartment for freezing and
storing frozen foods at temperatures of 8 degrees Fahrenheit or
below.
Regression
Imputation: A statistical technique for predicting the value of
a numerical variable that is missing. The technique involves developing
a regression equation that predicts the value of the missing variable
based upon variables that are not missing or have already been
imputed. A random error is usually added to the predicted value.
The sum of the predicted value and the random error are used as
the imputed value for the missing variable.
Renewable
Energy: Energy obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible
(unlike, for example, the fossil fuels, of which there is a finite
supply). Renewable sources of energy include wood, waste, geothermal,
wind, photovoltaic cells, and solar thermal energy.
Rent: See
Owned/Rented.
Residential:
Occupied housing units, including mobile homes, single-family
housing units (attached and detached), and apartments. The definition
of "occupied housing units" is the same as that used
by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. (See Household and Housing
Unit.)
Residential
Building: A structure used primarily as a dwelling for one or
more households.
Residential
Energy Consumption Survey (RECS): A national multistage probability
sample survey conducted by the Energy Consumption Division of
the Energy Information Administration. The RECS provides baseline
information on how U. S. households use energy.
Room-Air Conditioner:
Electric-powered air-conditioning units that typically fit into
the window or wall and are designed to cool only one room. (See
Air-Conditioning Equipment.)
Room Heater
Burning Gas, Oil, and Kerosene: Any of the following space- heating
equipment: circulating heaters, convectors, radiant gas heaters,
space heaters, or other nonportable room heaters that may or may
not be connected to a flue, vent, or chimney.
Rooms: Subdivisions
of a housing unit. Whole rooms are rooms such as living rooms,
dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, lodgers' rooms, finished basements
or attic rooms, recreation rooms, and permanently enclosed sun
porches that are used year round. Rooms used for offices by a
person living in the unit are included. "Finished" means
that the ceiling and walls are covered with finishing materials.
Not considered
to be rooms in this survey are bathrooms, halls, foyers or vestibules,
balconies, closets, alcoves, pantries, strip or pullman kitchens,
laundry or furnace rooms, unfinished attics or basements, open
porches, and unfinished space used for storage.
A partially
divided room, such as a dinette next to a kitchen or a living
room, is considered a separate room only if there is a partition
from floor to ceiling--but not if the partition consists solely
of shelves or cabinets. If a room is used by occupants of more
than one unit, the room is included with the unit from which it
is most easily reached. (See Bathroom and Bedroom.)
RSE Column
Factor: An adjustment factor that appears above each column of
the detailed tables and is used to compute RSE's. The column factor
is equal to the geometric mean of the RSE’s in a particular column
of the main tables. (See RSE or Relative Standard Error, and RSE
Row Factor.)
RSE or Relative
Standard Error: A measure of the reliability or precision of a
survey statistic on a percentage scale. Variability occurs in
survey statistics because different samples that could be drawn
would each produce different values for the survey statistics.
The RSE is defined as the standard error (the square root of the
variance) of a survey estimate, divided by the survey estimate
and multiplied by 100 (expressed as a percent of the estimate).
For example, an RSE of 10 percent means that the standard error
is one-tenth as large as the survey estimate. The RSE is also
known as the coefficient of variation. For a survey estimate in
a particular row and column of a table (that is, a particular
"cell"), the approximate RSE is obtained by multiplying
the RSE row factor by the RSE column factor for that cell.
RSE Row Factor:
An adjustment factor that appears to the right of each row of
the detailed tables and is used to compute RSE's. The row factor
is equal to the geometric mean of the RSE’s in a particular row
of the main tables. (See RSE Column Factor and RSE or Relative
Standard Error.)
Rural: Households
not located within MSA’s as defined by the U. S. Office of Management
and Budget in 1993. In the detailed tables, rural is included
in the Metropolitan Statistical Area Status category, which is
based on the definition provided by the U. S. Office of Management
and Budget for 1997 and rural is included in the Urban/Rural Location
category, which is based on the respondent's judgment. (See Metropolitan
Statistical Area, Urban/ Rural Location and Metropolitan Statistical
Area Status.)
Seasonal Energy
Efficiency Ratio (SEER): Ratio of the cooling output divided by
the power consumption. It is the Btu of cooling output during
its normal annual usage divided by the total electric energy input
in watt-hours during the same period. This is a measure of the
cooling performance for rating central air-conditioners and central
heat pumps. The appliance standards require a minimum SEER of
10 for split-system central air-conditioners and for split-system
central heat pumps. These new standards took effect in 1992. The
average heat pump or central air-conditioner sold in 1986 had
a SEER of about 9.
Seasonal Units:
Housing units intended for occupancy at only certain seasons of
the year. Included are units intended only for recreational use,
such as beach cottages and hunting cabins. Seasonal units are
not usually included in the RECS occupied housing unit count unless
they are occupied for more than half of the year. (See Primary
Residence.)
Second Home:
By definition, a second home is not the primary residence of a
householder and is not included in the RECS occupied housing unit
count. (See Housing Unit, Primary Residence, and Seasonal Unit.)
Secondary
Heating Equipment: Space-heating equipment used less often than
the main space-heating equipment. (See Main.)
Secondary
Heating Fuel: Fuels used in secondary space-heating equipment.
Setback Temperature
Behavior: These data were derived from differences in the temperature
settings reported by respondents for their daytime temperature
when someone is at home, daytime temperature when no one is at
home, and the temperature for sleeping hours (assumed to be nighttime).
For example, if a respondent's reported temperature setting was
lower when no one was at home than when someone was at home, respondents
were assumed to be "setting" back the temperature.
Single-Family:
A housing unit, detached or attached, that provides living space
for one household or family. Attached houses are considered single-family
houses as long as the house itself is not divided into more than
one housing unit and has an independent outside entrance. A single-family
house is contained within walls extending from the basement (or
the ground floor, if there is no basement) to the roof. A mobile
home with one or more rooms added is classified as a single- family
home. Townhouses, rowhouses, and duplexes are considered single-family
attached housing units, as long as there is no household living
above another one within the walls extending from the basement
to the roof to separate the units.
Site Energy:
The Btu value of energy at the point it enters the home, sometimes
referred to as "delivered" energy. (See Btu Conversion
Factors and Primary Electricity.)
Solar Energy:
The radiant energy of the sun which can be converted into other
forms of energy, such as heat or electricity.
Spa: See Hot
Tub.
Space Heating:
One of the five major end-use categories in this report. The use
of energy to generate heat in housing units using space-heating
equipment. The equipment could be the main or secondary space-heating
equipment. It does not include the use of energy to operate appliances
(such as lights and televisions) that give off heat as a byproduct.
(See End Use and Heating Equipment.)
Space-Heating
Equipment: See Heating Equipment.
Split System:
When applied to electric air-conditioning equipment, it means
a two-part system—an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The indoor
unit is an evaporator coil mounted in the indoor-circulating air
system, and the outdoor unit is an air-cooled condensing unit
containing an electric motor-driven compressor and condenser fan
and fan motor.
Square Feet:
See Floorspace.
Standard Price:
Average price data were obtained from other EIA surveys and used
in the end- use regression equations for natural gas and electricity.
These average prices were attached to each 1997 RECS household
that used the respective fuel.
Steam or Hot-Water
System: Either of two types of a central space-heating system
that supplies steam or hot water to radiators, convectors, or
pipes. The more common type supplies either steam or hot water
to conventional radiators, baseboard radiators, convectors, heating
pipes embedded in the walls or ceilings, or heating coils or equipment
that are part of a combined heating/ ventilating or heating/air-conditioning
system. The other type supplies radiant heat through pipes that
carry hot water and are inlaid in a concrete slab floor.
Stock: The
total number of household appliances or housing units in use at
a given time, including newly purchased ones and those in use
for some time.
Stove: See
Heating Stove Burning Wood, Coal and Coke, and Cooking Stove.
Structure:
The type of building in which the housing unit was located. The
four categories include single-family, multifamily (2- 4 units),
multifamily (5 or more units), and mobile home. (See Single Family,
Multifamily (2 to 4 units), Multifamily (5 or more units), and
Mobile Home.)
Submetered
Data: End-use consumption data obtained for individual appliances
from recording devices attached to the appliance to measure the
amount of energy it consumed.
Suburban:
Those parts of the MSA that are not designated as a central city.
In the detailed tables under the urban/rural location category,
the central city and suburban areas are called urban; and, under
the metropolitan status category, these components are referred
to as metropolitan areas. (See Central City, Metropolitan Statistical
Area, and Urban.)
Suburbs: Classification
based on respondent’s judgment. (See Urban/Rural Location).
Swimming Pool
Heater: Optional heating equipment that heats the pool water to
an acceptable level of comfort, usually 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Swimming Pool
Pump: An electric pump for filtering and circulating the water.
Telecommuting:
Instead of commuting to a place of employment, the household member
works at home using a personal computer to connect via modem to
the employment site.
Temperature:
Respondents’ reported estimates of the indoor temperature. If
different sections of the house are kept at different temperatures,
the temperature requested is for the part of the house being used.
If the heat was turned off upstairs during the day because the
family was downstairs, the downstairs temperature was used. If
the respondent does not know the temperature, the thermostat setting
was used.
Thermostat:
A device that adjusts the amount of heating and cooling produced
and/ or distributed by automatically responding to the temperature
in the environment.
30-Year Average
Degree-Days: Annual cooling or heating degree-days averaged over
30 years (from 1961 to 1990). The 30-year average is considered
"normal weather" for a region. (See Cooling Degree-Days
and Heating Degree-Days.)
Toaster Oven:
Portable table-top appliance used for heating or broiling food.
It is not included in the “oven” category.
Town: Classification
based on respondent’s judgment. (See Urban/Rural Location.)
Transported
Gas: Natural gas physically delivered to a housing unit by a utility
but not bought from that utility. A separate transaction is made
to purchase the volume of gas and the utility is paid for the
use of its pipeline to deliver the gas.
Urban: Refers
to a group of housing units located within the MSA and is composed
of a central city and suburban areas as defined by the U. S. Office
of Management and Budget in 1997. (See Central City, Metropolitan
Statistical Area, and Suburban.)
Urban/Rural
Location: In the detailed tables, a category based on the respondent’s
judgment. Respondents classified their households as being located
in a city, town, the suburbs, or rural/ open country.
Utilities
Paid by Household: Householder directly pays an energy supplier
for all uses of a fuel or fuel types used.
Vacant Housing
Unit: A housing unit not occupied when the first RECS field contact
was made. An occupied seasonal or migratory housing unit is classified
as vacant at the time of the first contact if all of its occupants
had a usual place of residence elsewhere.
Vehicles:
For this survey, motorized vehicles used by U. S. households for
personal transportation. Excluded are motorcycles, mopeds, large
trucks, and buses. Included are automobiles, station wagons, passenger
vans, cargo vans, motor homes, pickup trucks, and jeeps or similar
sports utility vehicles. To be included, vehicles must be: (1)
owned by members of the household, or (2) company cars not owned
by household members but regularly available to household members
for their personal use and ordinarily kept at home, or (3) rented
or leased for 1 month or more.
Water-Bed
Heater: An appliance that uses an electric resistance coil to
maintain the temperature of the water in a water bed at a comfortable
level.
Water Heated
by a Space-Heating System: Furnaces that provide hot water as
well as heat to the home. The water is heated by a coil that is
part of the heating system. There is not a separate hot water
tank for these systems.
Water Heater:
An automatically controlled, thermally insulated vessel designed
for heating water and storing heated water at temperatures less
than 180 degrees Fahrenheit .
Water Heater
Size: Respondents were asked the size of their water heater tank.
Three categories were provided: small (30 gallons or less), Medium
(31 to 49 gallons), and Large (50 gallons or more). Households
were not asked this question if they shared a water heater with
other housing units. (See Water Heated by a Space-Heating System.)
Water Heating:
One of the five major end-use categories in this report. The use
of energy to heat water for hot running water, as well as the
use of energy to heat water on stoves and in auxiliary water-heating
equipment for bathing, cleaning, and other noncooking applications
of hot water. This category does not include energy used to heat
water for (1) cooking , (2) hot drinks, and (3) a swimming pool.
These are included in the appliance end-use category. (See End
Use.)
Water-Heating
Fuel: The fuel used to heat water for washing or bathing. The
hot water may have been available anywhere in the same building
as the respondent's living quarters--in a hallway, in a room used
by several units in the building, in the basement, or in an enclosed
porch--provided the respondent's household had access to it.
Water-Heating
Intensity: The amount of energy used per household member to heat
water. (See Water Heating.)
Weight: The
number of U. S. households that a particular sample unit represents.
The estimate of the number of households with a certain characteristic
(such as the use of electricity as the main space-heating fuel)
equals the sum of the weights over the set of households with
the characteristics.
Well Pump:
See Electric Pump for Well Water.
Windows: Openings
in the housing unit envelope that contains framed glass. Generally,
each window that opens separately is counted as one window. Double-hung
slider windows count as one window. Panes of glass in a large
window are not counted separately unless they open separately.
Not counted are windows in unheated spaces, such as a garage,
or unheated basement and windows (glass panels) in doors.
Wood: A fuel
in the form of wood logs, chips, or wood products that are burned
for their heat or aesthetic value.
Wood Consumption:
The amount of wood burned in a fireplace, stove, or furnace in
the household at any time during the preceding 12 months. A cord
of wood measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet and is approximately
128 cubic feet. To help respondents accurately report the amount
of wood they burned, respondents were shown a drawing of a person,
as a point of reference, standing beside 1-, 5-, and 10-cord wood
piles.
Wood Conversion
to Btu: An imprecise procedure for converting cords of wood into
a Btu equivalent. Besides errors of memory inherent in the task
of adding up the use of wood over a 12-month period, the estimates
are subject to problems in the definition and the perception of
a cord. The nominal cord as delivered to a suburban residential
buyer may differ from the dimensions of the standard cord. This
difference is possible because wood is most often cut in lengths
that are longer than what makes a third of a cord (16 inches)
and shorter than what makes a half cord (24 inches).
In other cases,
wood is bought or cut in unusual units (for example, pickup truck-load
or trunk load). Volume estimates are difficult to make when the
wood is left in a pile instead of being stacked. Other factors
that make it difficult to estimate the Btu value of the wood burned
is that the amount of empty space between the stacked logs may
vary from 12 to 40 percent of the volume. Moisture content may
vary from 20 percent in dried wood to 50 percent in green wood.
(Moisture reduces the useful Btu output because energy is used
in driving off the moisture.) Also, some tree species contain
twice the Btu content of species with the lowest Btu value. Generally,
hard woods have greater Btu value than soft woods. Wood was converted
to Btu at the rate of 20 million Btu per cord, which is a rough
average that takes all these factors into account. (See Btu Conversion
Factors.)
Year of Construction:
The year the structure was originally completed or the year any
part of the structure was first occupied. For mobile homes, year
of construction is the model year.
Year-Round
Units: Housing units occupied or intended for occupancy at any
time during the year. (See Housing Unit.)
Footnote
1 Average
energy input of the generation process for fossil fuel utility
plants in the United States for 1993. See Energy Information Administration,
Monthly Energy Review, April 1995.
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