Rather than constantly worrying about the big picture (which, like I tracked down earlier was something in the ballpark of 26.9 billion MegaWatts), I also want to know what the average home in America consumes, what the big power drains are, and what can be done to help.
Here’s some figures that I found across the web:
- Prescott, Arizona: 9,300 kWh per year (found at Home Energy Magazine Online)
- US average: 8,900 kWh per year (found at Power Consumption of a US Home)
- US average: 10,656 kWh per year (found at Tennessee Center for Policy Research)
- US average: 11,000 kWh per year (found at EERE Energy Savers)
- Madison, Wisconsin: 9,420 kWh per year (found at Madison Gas & Electric)
So, if we take each of these at face value, we’re left with an average home consumption figure somewhere in the 8,900-11,000 kWh per year range. That still leaves about a 20% variance in just finding an average figure, but I think it’s probably safe to say the magic number is right around 10,000 kWh per home per year. Note, this doesn’t take in to account energy consumption of natural gas, propane, or heating oil for heating purposes (which is a major home energy cost), but at least it gives a reasonable baseline figure to consider.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Richard Reis // Dec 23, 2008 at 10:21 am
We always focus on electrical energy use. However, we need to consider other forms, such as natural gas and oil. When comparing other fuels, these can be discounted given that electric generation is only about 40% efficient.
Has anyone found how much energy the average home uses from all types of energy?
2 admin // Jan 14, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Richard,
Thanks for the thoughts, and you’re exactly right, when it comes to home consumption, electricity is only part of the equation (for many home owners). To be fair; I’m slightly biased in my reporting / writing because I’m a California based apartment dweller. We don’t have the extreme temperature variations like the north east or mid west receives, so heating oil fuels aren’t such a consideration. Furthermore, apartments tend to be electrical; I can only recall a handful of apartments in recent memory that have had natural gas in them (but man do I miss them!) Lower bills and better appliances are a nice combination.
Ultimately, the other reason why I look closely at electrical issues is that cooling is predominantly an electrical consideration; A/C runs of electricity. Heating *can* come from electricity, and solar thermal offers an option as well.
Like I said, thanks for the note. If I come across anything new and noteworthy in the search for relevant facts & figures on average energy consumption I’ll be sure to post them up.
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