Regional Energy Profile |
MOUNTAIN APPLIANCE REPORT  2001 |
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Eight States--Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming--comprise the Mountain Census Division on the Rocky Mountain range in the western United States. The Mountain States extend from the northern border with Canada to the southern border with Mexico, resulting in a wide range of typical winter and summer temperatures within the Division. On average, however, the Mountain Division experiences somewhat colder winters than does the United States as a whole, while Mountain Division and U.S. summer temperatures are normally about the same. The Mountain Division is the driest Division in the United States. It averages only 14 inches of precipitation per year, compared with a U.S. average of 30 inches per year. Households in the Mountain States consumed 0.58 quadrillion Btu of energy in 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available). That consumption accounted for about 6 percent of the nationwide total of 10.2 quadrillion Btu. About 30 percent of Mountain household energy was used to operate appliances (including refrigerators) and to run electric air-conditioning. That share is about the same as share for the United States as a whole (31 percent). Among the 7 million households in the Mountain Division in 2001, electric appliances, particularly evaporative coolers, were more common than among U.S. households, and gas appliances and air-conditioning were less common. AIR-CONDITIONING Air-conditioning is less common in the Mountain Division than in any other U.S. Census Division except the Pacific. It is found in just two out of four households, whereas nationwide it is found in three out of four. In all U.S. households, the prevalence of air-conditioning increased significantly from 57 percent of households in 1980 to 77 percent of households in 2001 (U.S. Data Table). Over the same period, the prevalence of air-conditioning in Mountain households increased from 43 percent in 1980 to 51 percent in 2001 (Mountain Data Table). |