Introduction

The 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) provides information on the use of energy in residential housing units in the United States. This information includes the physical characteristics of the housing units, the appliances utilized including space heating and cooling equipment, demographic characteristics of the household, the types of fuels used, and other information that relates to energy use. The RECS also provides energy consumption and expenditures data for natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and kerosene.

Background

EIA Surveys

Congress has mandated that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) collect, analyze, and disseminate objective, comprehensive data about energy--how much is produced, who uses it, and the purposes for which it is used. To comply with that congressional mandate, EIA conducts two types of surveys:

Supply surveys gather information annually, or more frequently, from energy suppliers and marketers on the quantities and prices of specific energy sources produced or supplied to the market. The results of the supply surveys are combined and published in EIA's fuel-specific publications, in the Monthly Energy Review, and in the Annual Energy Review.

Consumption surveys gather information directly from energy end users on the types of energy they use, along with information on the energy-related characteristics of households, commercial buildings, and manufacturing establishments. The results of these surveys are published in reports, such as this one, which describe the characteristics of the energy consuming-units, in energy consumption reports; and in special analytical reports.


RECS Methodology

The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) is one of EIA's consumption surveys. The RECS is a national statistical survey that collects energy-related data for occupied primary housing units. By definition, in the RECS, the number of households is the same as the number of occupied primary housing units. RECS was first conducted in 1978; the tenth, and most recent survey, was conducted in 1997. In the 1997 RECS, the data were collected from a sample of 5,900 housing units statistically selected to represent the 101.5 million units in the United States. The 1997 data are available for the four Census regions, the nine Census divisions, and for the four most populous States--California, Florida, New York, and Texas.

Data for the RECS are obtained from three different sources:

Household Interviews. On-site 30-minute personal interviews conducted in the housing unit where information about the characteristics of the housing units and household members are collected. The topics covered in the interviews included:

  • Housing Unit Types and Characteristics
  • Demographic Characteristics of the Household Members
  • Space-Heating Fuels, Equipment, and Usage
  • Air-Conditioning Equipment and Usage
  • Kitchen and Other Household Appliances
  • Energy-Usage Indicators
  • Home Office Equipment

Rental Agent Interviews. Telephone interviews with the rental agents of those rented housing units that have any of their energy use included in their rent. This information is used to supplement information from those housing units where the residents may not be knowledgeable about the fuels used for space heating or water heating.

Energy Supplier Questionnaires. Questionnaires mailed to the housing units’ energy suppliers asking them to provide the units’ actual energy consumption amounts and expenditures. Prior permission to release these data was obtained from respondents to the household interview.

A more detailed and comprehensive discussion of the 1997 RECS survey methodology is presented in Appendix A, "How the Survey Was Conducted." The survey questionnaires used to collect the data for the 1997 RECS are presented under "Questionnaires and Maps".

RECS Data Used in this Report

The statistics published in this report are based on a sample of 5,900 housing units from the population of all occupied primary residential housing units in the United States as of July 1997. As a result, all of the statistics are estimates rather than exact measurements of the household population. As previously noted, the 1997 RECS represents 101.5 million households in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. As described in Appendix B, "Survey Estimates and Data Quality," the accuracy of each estimate is indicated by the relative standard error (RSE). No estimates were published that were based on fewer than 10 sample households or that had an RSE greater than 50 percent. All the tables of estimates include corresponding RSEs that are calculated using row and column RSE factors.

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File Last Modified: August 18, 1998 Eileen M. O'Brien

Eileen M. O'Brien Phone: 202.586.1122 Fax Number: 202.586.0018

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