Air Conditioning Facts
from the
1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey
The average American household used about as much electricity for air conditioning (12 percent of total consumption) as it did for space heating (11 percent of total consumption).
Eighty-three percent of the electricity used for air conditioning was used to operate central air-conditioning systems.
Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of all American households had air-conditioners. 47 percent of all households had central air-conditioning systems and 25 percent had window/wall air-conditioners. 1 percent had both central and window/wall air-conditioners.
As shown in the table below, American households having electric air conditioning in 1997 spent an average of $140 and 40 percent used their air conditioners all summer. Of all U.S. households, 30 percent had air conditioners and used them all summer. The availability, use, and expenditures for electric air conditioning varied greatly across the country.
In 1997, households in the South spent the most for air conditioning, an average of $201, while households in the Midwest spent the least, an average of $81. In the South, 57 percent of all households had electric air conditioners and used them all summer, compared to only 11 percent of the households in the Northeast and West.
Closer to home, in the Washington metropolitan area, the average annual expenditures for electric air conditioning in 1997 was $195. Over nine-tenths (93 percent) of the households in the South Atlantic Census Division had air conditioners. Over half (54 percent) of all the households in the division had air conditioners and used them all summer.
Additional information and data can be obtained from our Web Site.
Electric Air Conditioning Expenditures and Usage -- 1997
| Census Region |
Average Annual
Expenditures for
Households Having
Electric Air Conditioning |
Of all Households,
Percent
Having Electric
Air-Conditioners |
Of All Households
Having Electric
Air Conditioners,
Percent
That Used Them
All Summer |
Of all Households,
Percent
That Have Electric
Air Conditioners
and Used Them
All Summer |
United States |
$140 |
72 |
40 |
30 |
| Northeast |
$ 74 |
63 |
18 |
11 |
| Midwest |
$ 81 |
78 |
27 |
21 |
| South |
$201 |
93 |
61 |
57 |
| West |
$128 |
41 |
27 |
11 |
| South Atlantic Division* |
$195 |
93 |
58 |
54 |
* Includes Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and other States along the Eastern seaboard.
Source: Energy Information Administration, 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.
File Last Modified: March 23, 1999
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- Stephanie J. Battles
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- Michael Laurence
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URL: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/consumptionbriefs/aircon_use.html
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