The 20 million households in the South Atlantic States consumed 1.6 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2001, about one-sixth of the total for U.S. households.



























Most South Atlantic households had installed air-conditioning, and over half used electricity as their main source of space heat.







Of the nine Census Divisions, the South Atlantic had the most housing units built after 1979.

















In the South Atlantic, most households—79 percent—used central air-conditioning in the summer of 2001, and the average amount of electricity used by each system was 3,467 kWh.














Per-unit electricity consumption by refrigerators was higher in the South Atlantic than in the United States.





















The price of electricity sold to the South Atlantic’s residential sector is projected to rise to 9.3 cents per kWh in 2007, while the national average is projected to rise to 9.9 cents per kWh.














In July 2004, Maryland enacted a bill regulating energy efficiency standards for such residential energy uses as ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits.

Electricity Consumption | Efficiency Standards | Table D5-1 | Figures | Sources

Note to Readers: This report is part of a new analytical series on household electricity consumption at regional and State levels. The statistics presented here are derived from data collected in the 2001 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, a household energy survey conducted every 4 years by the Energy Information Administration. Similar statistics from the 2005 survey are expected to be available in late 2006.

Located on the eastern seaboard of the United States, the South Atlantic U.S. Census Division comprises eight States—Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the District of Columbia. The 20 million households in those States consumed 1.6 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2001, about one-sixth of the total for U.S. households.

The primary factors that affect total household energy consumption in a given region are the number of households, the share of households with installed air-conditioning, and the climate. In general, a colder climate is correlated with a higher level of energy consumption in a given region, because space heating is one of the largest end uses of residential energy. In the South Atlantic, space heating requirements were low compared with the rest of the country, and that factor outweighed the region’s high population density and high share of households with installed air-conditioning: with 19 percent of all U.S. households, the South Atlantic accounted for just 16 percent of total energy consumption by U.S. households in 2001.

On the other hand, consumption of electricity (as opposed to all energy) was higher in the South Atlantic than nationwide. Hotter summers and a corresponding greater use of air-conditioning, as well as more wide-spread use of electric heat, contributed to the outcome: the South Atlantic accounted for 24 percent of electricity consumption by U.S. households in 2001.

The South Atlantic’s electricity came from 15 nuclear power plants and dozens of coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. Several large hydroelectric plants and many smaller ones clustered, for the most part, in northern Georgia and the Carolinas also generated electricity for the region. State prices of electricity per kilowatthour to residential consumers in 2001 ranged from 6.3 cents in West Virginia to 8.6 cents in Delaware. The average price in the South Atlantic Division was 8.1 cents, somewhat below the U.S. average of 8.6 cents. Twenty-nine percent of households were eligible for government assistance in paying their energy bills, compared with 32 percent of U.S. households.


SOUTH ATLANTIC HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2001

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In 2001, electricity consumption by the household sector totaled 279 billion kilowatthours (Table D5-1), about one-fourth of the U.S. total. Most South Atlantic households had installed air-conditioning, and over half used electricity as their main source of space heat. Kitchen appliances accounted for 23 percent of total electricity consumption in South Atlantic households.

HVAC and Water Heating

The share of household electricity consumption devoted to space and water heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation in the South Atlantic States was significantly higher than in the United States as a whole: 48 percent of the South Atlantic total (Figure D5-1), compared with 40 percent of the U.S. total (Figure US-1).

New housing units are more likely than old housing units to use electricity as their main source of energy for space heating. Of the nine Census Divisions, the South Atlantic had the most housing units built after 1979. Also, a smaller share of housing units had access to natural gas than in most, if not all, other Divisions. As a result of those and other factors, electricity was the main source of energy used for space heating in 54 percent of South Atlantic households and the secondary source of energy for space heating in 11 percent of households. Space heating in the South Atlantic consumed 29 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2001 (Figure D5-2).

Water heating consumed 35 billion kWh, making the South Atlantic one of only two Divisions where more electricity was used for water heating than for space heating. (New England was the other.) This result could be considered quite surprising given the prevalence of electric space heating in the division, even though the heating requirements for South Atlantic housing were relatively modest. Almost two-thirds of South Atlantic households used electricity for water heating.

Space cooling is important to householders in the South, where hot summer weather is the norm. In the South Atlantic Division, cooling degree-days (a measure of how much space cooling is needed in summer) averaged 2,071 per household, compared with a U.S. average of 1,407. The greater demand for space cooling was met with widespread use of central air-conditioning.

In the South Atlantic, most households—79 percent—used central air-conditioning in the summer of 2001, and the average amount of electricity used by each system was 3,467 kWh. Nationwide, 54 percent of households used central air-conditioning systems that averaged 2,796 kWh. Another 14 percent of South Atlantic households used only room units for air-conditioning; across the United States, the comparable share was 22 percent. Air-conditioning use of electricity in the South Atlantic totaled 60 billion kWh in 2001 (Figure D5-2), more than one-fifth of the divisional total for all end uses. Ceiling fans were found in many households but consumed only 2.4 billion kWh, 0.9 percent of the divisional total.

Kitchen and Laundry Appliances

The operation of kitchen appliances by South Atlantic households consumed 65 billion kWh (Figure D5-3) and accounted for a 23-percent share of the total, somewhat more than air-conditioning. In the Division, as elsewhere, refrigerators consumed more electricity than all other kitchen appliances combined. Generally, newer refrigerators are more efficient than older models and will consume less electricity per unit; however, per-unit electricity consumption in 2001 was higher in the South Atlantic than in the United States, even though a somewhat higher percentage of refrigerators in the Division were new. Seventy-one percent of South Atlantic “most used” refrigerators were 9 years old or newer, about the same as the U.S. share of 68 percent. Fifty-four percent of second refrigerators were 9 years old or newer, significantly higher than the U.S. share of 41 percent.

Among kitchen appliances, separate freezers were the second-highest consumers of electricity. One-third of South Atlantic households had freezers, roughly the same as in the United States overall. Per-unit electricity consumption by freezers was somewhat higher in the South Atlantic States (1,121 kWh, compared with U.S. per-unit consumption of 1,039 kWh), even though the share of freezers older than 9 years was about the same or a little lower in the South Atlantic. The hotter weather in the South Atlantic States could have increased electricity demand for freezers, as well as for refrigerators.

Among household appliances, clothes dryers accounted for the second-largest share of household electricity consumption (after refrigerators), and dryers were found in a greater share of households in the South Atlantic (69 percent) than in the United States (57 percent). However, the shares of total household electricity consumption used to operate dryers were similar (between 5 percent and 6 percent). Per-household electricity consumption for clothes drying in the South Atlantic averaged 1,065 kWh in 2001, about the same as the U.S. average of 1,079 kWh.

Lighting and Home Electronics

Lighting and home electronics were both significant electricity end uses in the South Atlantic Division in 2001. Lighting (including indoor and outdoor uses) consumed 19 billion kWh, a 6.8-percent share of total household electricity consumption. Home electronics consumed 16 billion kWh (Figure D5-4), 5.7 percent of household electricity consumption.


THE OUTLOOK FOR ELECTRICITY PRICES AND CONSUMPTION

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EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (April 2006) provides projections for the South Atlantic 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 most U.S. Census Divisions. The average amount of retail sales of electricity to the U.S. residential sector is projected to increase 2.1 percent, while the amount of sales in the South Atlantic increases 4.6 percent. In response to higher utility fuel prices, electricity prices are expected to increase. The price of electricity sold to the South Atlantic’s residential sector is projected to rise to 9.3 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 South Atlantic States is expected to grow, and prices, when adjusted for inflation, are expected to be about the same in 2030 as they were in 2004. EIA’s EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2006 indicates that, from 2004 to 2030, the amount of retail sales of electricity to residential consumers in the South Atlantic States is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.9 percent per year, compared with a projected growth rate of 1.5 percent per year for sales to all U.S. residential consumers. South Atlantic inflation-adjusted prices of residential electricity are projected to be 2.2 percent lower in 2030 than they were in 2004, while U.S. prices are projected to be 4.5 percent lower.


EFFICIENCY STANDARDS IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

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In July 2004, Maryland became the first (and as yet only) South Atlantic State to enact a bill regulating energy efficiency standards for such residential energy uses as ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits. Several Federal initiatives also address appliance and equipment standards. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 covers such residential appliances as dehumidifiers, torchieres, and fluorescent lamps and ballasts, as well as ceiling fans and light kits. New tax credits for energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in households became effective on January 1, 2006, and can be expected to affect residential energy consumption in the South Atlantic 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. In January 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a new 5-year plan to issue efficiency standards for 18 products, including residential furnaces, air-conditioners, dishwashers, and clothes dryers. In March 2006, DOE announced that new, more stringent criteria are due to go into effect on January 1, 2007, for ENERGY STAR dishwashers. As announced previously, new criteria for ENERGY STAR clothes washers also will become effective on January 1, 2007.