Average on-site energy consumption per household dropped by 27%between 1978 and 1997 while the number of U.S. households increasedby 33%, resulting in no change in total on-site residential energyconsumption over that 20-year period, according to a report fromthe Energy Information Administration (EIA). If the amount ofprimary energy required to generate and transmit the electricityconsumed by households is considered, then the decline inper-household energy consumption is only 16% because electricity’sshare of total household energy consumption increased between 1978and 1997.

The decrease in per-household energy consumption is all the moreremarkable considering that the size of U.S. housing units hasincreased markedly in the past two decades. The percentage of homeswith 6 or more rooms increased from 41% in 1978 to 49% in 1997.

“A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 1997,” releasedtoday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), presents theresults of the tenth Residential Energy Consumption Survey, which,since 1978, has collected information on household energyconsumption, energy expenditures, and energy-related householdcharacteristics.

Other findings from “A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in1997” include:

The average household spent $1,338 for energy in 1997. Totalannual energy expenditures per household were highest in theNortheast ($1,644) and lowest in the West ($1,014).

Electricity accounted for 35% of all the energy consumed in U.S.households in 1997 compared to 23% in 1978. Over the same period,fuel oil and kerosene, as a percentage of total energy consumption,decreased from 21% in 1978 to 10% in 1997. The share of natural gasand propane remained unchanged.

Space heating, which accounted for two-thirds of the totalenergy consumed in U.S. households in 1978, accounted for only halfin 1997. At the same time the proportion of energy consumed tooperate appliances, including lights, increased from 17% to 27%.

Much of the increase in energy consumption for operatingelectrical appliances is due to their proliferation in the typicalAmerican household. Between 1978 and 1997, the percentage ofhouseholds using a microwave oven climbed from 8 to 83%;dishwashers went from 35 to 50%; and personal computers went fromnonexistent to 35%.

“A Look at Residential Energy Consumption in 1997” is availableelectronically here (3.8 MB, 310 pages).

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