Regional Energy Profile |
WEST NORTH CENTRAL APPLIANCE REPORT  2001 |
Return to Regional Energy Profiles Return to Appliance Reports Subscribe to Our Listserv for Notice of New Products CONTENTS OF THIS REPORT Air-Conditioning Electric Appliances Gas Appliances U.S. Data Table West North Central Data Table LINKS TO RELATED DATA PRODUCTS West North Central Residential Energy Map West North Central Renewable Potential Map Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2001 Regional Energy Data Sources U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map |
The seven midwestern States of the West North Central Census Division -- Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota -- lie just west of the Mississippi River. Annual precipitation in the Division averages 27 inches, close to the U.S. average of 30 inches, and agriculture is the predominant economic activity. The severe winters in this western part of the U.S. Midwest result in substantial energy demand for space heating. The 7 million households in the West North Central States consumed 0.89 quadrillion Btu of energy, about 9 percent of nationwide household energy consumption of 10.2 quadrillion Btu in 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available). Per-household consumption of energy in the West North Central States was, on average, 23 percent higher in the those States than in the United States as a whole. About 25 percent of household energy consumption in the West North Central States was used to operate air-conditioners and appliances (including refrigerators), compared with 31 percent nationwide. Air-conditioning and electric appliances are found more frequently in West North Central households, tending to increase the share of household energy devoted to running them. The reason that the share of energy consumption devoted to air-conditioning and appliances in the West North Central States is in fact lower, rather than higher, when compared with the United States as a whole, is that winters are colder in the West North Central States. Therefore, a higher percentage of household energy is consumed for space and water heating. AIR-CONDITIONING Air-conditioning is an energy-intensive activity that increases household energy consumption and, despite relatively mild summers in the West North Central States, the incidence of air-conditioning was consistently higher there than in the United States as a whole. From 1980 through 2001, the share of U.S. households with air-conditioning rose from 57 percent to 77 percent (U.S. Data Table). Over the same period, the share of West North Central households rose from 74 percent to 92 percent (West North Central Data Table), a share more closely comparable to shares in southern States than in other other northern States. |