U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Homes have more energy-efficient appliances, but the efficiency gains are partly offset by more consumer electronics
While most home appliances have become more efficient over the past 30 years, the average U.S. household uses many more consumer electronics — in particular, personal computers, televisions and related devices, according to data released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the latest update to its Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Notable trends in household energy characteristics include:
This new information on the ways energy is used in American homes is the first release of 2009 data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), which EIA has conducted periodically since 1979. Historically, EIA has reported household energy data for the United States, Census Regions and Divisions, and the four most populous States: California, Texas, New York, and Florida. By tripling the number of households contacted in the 2009 RECS, EIA has expanded the household data series to include twelve more States: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arizona, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Colorado. The larger RECS supports new energy-use comparisons between States:
The initial RECS 2009 household energy characteristics data can be found at: http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/ EIA will release additional information on home energy characteristics from the RECS 2009 in the coming weeks. Related statistics on energy consumption and expenditures for the same households will be released next year.
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EIA Program Contact: James Berry, 202-586-5543, James.Berry@eia.gov EIA Press Contact: Jonathan Cogan, 202-586-8719, Jonathan.Cogan@eia.gov EIA-2011-03 |