Table 1. Annual Natural Gas Consumption Percentiles by Year Constructed, 1997
(thousand cubic feet per household)
  5th percentile 10th percentile 25th percentile   median   75th percentile 90th percentile 95th percentile
All Households 12 22 43 74 113 154 188
Year Constructed  
Before 1940 5 18 51 97 141 193 217
1940 to 1949 12 23 43 72 112 154 176
1950 to 1959 15 26 49 76 111 142 161
1960 to 1969 14 20 37 66 97 140 174
1970 to 1979 12 20 38 69 103 139 164
1980 to 1989 16 24 46 67 96 120 136
1990 to 1997 18 27 41 68 104 145 199
Graph of data

Notes: The data in this table are for households that used natural gas.
The percentiles describe the distribution of household natural gas consumption data; for example, 25% of households in units constructed before 1940 consumed less than 51 thousand cubic feet and 75% consumed more than that amount.
Source: 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Return to: “Median Values and Percentiles for Household Energy Data”

Table 2. Mean Annual Natural Gas Consumption by Year Constructed, 1997
(thousand cubic feet per household)
  Natural Gas Consumption per Household
(1,000 cf)		 Relative Standard Error (percent) Standard Error
(1,000 cf)		 95% confidence level lower bound (1,000 cf) 95% confidence level upper bound (1,000 cf)
All Households 83 1.8 1 80 86
Year Constructed
Before 1940 103 3.2 3 97 109
1940 to 1949 81 6.6 5 71 92
1950 to 1959 81 3.3 3 76 87
1960 to 1969 74 3.6 3 69 79
1970 to 1979 76 4.0 3 71 82
1980 to 1989 72 4.0 3 67 78
1990 to 1997 80 8.0 6 67 93
Graph of data

Notes: The data in this table are for households that used natural gas.
The standard error is a measure of sampling error and can be used to calculate a confidence range. For example, the estimate for natural gas consumption in units constructed before 1940 is 103 thousand cubic feet (cf) and the standard error is 3 thousand cf. The 95% confidence interval is calculated by multiplying 1.96 times the standard error, and the 95% confidence range is 97 thousand cf to 109 thousand cf.
Source: 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Return to: “Median Values and Percentiles for Household Energy Data”