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U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION Average Household Energy Consumption Has Declined by 27 Percent Since 1978 Average on-site energy consumption per household dropped by 27 percent between 1978 and 1997 while the number of U.S. households increased by 33 percent, resulting in no change in total on-site residential energy consumption over that 20-year period. If the amount of primary energy required to generate and transmit the electricity consumed by households is considered, then the decline in per-household energy consumption is only 16 percent, because electricity's share of total household energy consumption increased between 1978 and 1997. The decrease in per-household energy consumption is all the more remarkable considering that the size of U.S. housing units has increased markedly in the past two decades. The percentage of homes with 6 or more rooms increased from 41 percent in 1978 to 49 percent in 1997. A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 1997, released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), presents the results of the tenth Residential Energy Consumption Survey, which, since 1978, has collected information on household energy consumption, energy expenditures, and energy-related household characteristics. Other highlights from A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 1997 include: * The average household spent $1,338 for energy in 1997. Total annual energy expenditures per household were highest in the Northeast ($1,644) and lowest in the West ($1,014). * Electricity accounted for 35 percent of all the energy consumed in U.S. households in 1997 compared to 23 percent in 1978. Over the same period, fuel oil and kerosene, as a percentage of total energy consumption, decreased from 21 percent in 1978 to 10 percent in 1997. The share of natural gas and propane remained unchanged. * Space heating, which accounted for two-thirds of the total energy consumed in U.S. households in 1978, accounted for only half in 1997. At the same time the proportion of energy consumed to operate appliances, including lights, increased from 17 percent to 27 percent. * Much of the increase in energy consumption for operating electrical appliances is due to their proliferation in the typical American household. Between 1978 and 1997, the percent of households using a microwave oven climbed from 8 to 83 percent; dishwashers went from 35 to 50 percent; and personal computers went from non-existent to 35 percent. * Movement of the U.S. population over the last several decades is clearly reflected in the age of housing units in 1997 by geographic area. In the South, 36 percent of the housing units were built after 1980 and in the West, 27 percent were built after 1980. In the Northeast and Midwest only about 18 to 20 percent of all housing units were built after 1980. About 30 to 32 percent of housing units in the Northeast and Midwest and only 9 percent of the housing units in the South and West were built before 1940. A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 1997 is available electronically on the EIA Internet site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/pdf/consumption/063297.pdf. Printed copies of the report will be available by November 26, 1999 from the U.S Government Printing Office (202/512-1800) or through EIA's National Energy Information Center (202/586-8800).
EIA Program Contact: Michael Laurence, 202/586-2453, mlaurence@eia.doe.gov EIA Press Contact: National Energy Information Center, 202/586-8800, infoctr@eia.doe.gov EIA-99-27 Contact:
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