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The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) is a national sample survey of housing units. The survey collects statistical information on the consumption of and expenditures for energy in housing units along with data on energy-related characteristics of the housing units and occupants. The survey is restricted to housing units that are the primary residence of the occupants; the RECS does not cover vacant housing units, second homes, or vacation units. RECS is conducted by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. The RECS was conducted in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1997. For the 1997 RECS, data were obtained for 5,900 housing units. Energy-related characteristics of the housing units and occupants are obtained in an on-site personal interview with the occupants. Energy consumption and expenditures information are obtained from the energy suppliers to the responding households during the Energy Suppliers Survey that follows the household personal interview.
The 1997 RECS Public Use Files are microdata files that contain 5,900 records, representing housing units from the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Each record corresponds to a single responding, in-scope sampled housing unit and contains information for that unit about the size, year constructed, types of energy used, energy-using equipment, conservation features, energy consumption and expenditures (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, and LPG), and the amount of energy used for five end uses: space heating, air-conditioning, water heating, refrigeration, and other.
RECS data are available for the four Census regions and nine Census divisions. State-level data are available for the four most populated States (California, Texas New York, and Florida).
The Public Use Files are constructed in two formats—ASCII and Microsoft ACCESS97. Both formats contain the same detail of information, with the notable exception that the ACCESS97 database has replaced all alphanumeric coding with English labeling. In ASCII files all records are comma-delimited with fixed column positions. The creation of comma-delimited ASCII files enables use of EIA's public-use files by a wide spectrum of data users. However, EIA realizes that some users are well versed in the use and manipulation of common database systems. Unfortunately, EIA does not have the resources to provide public-use files in multiple database formats. However, EIA has created an ACCESS97 version of the 1997 RECS because of the internal use of the Microsoft ACCESS97 software. The continuation of multiple format releases is highly dependent upon the use and feedback from our data users. Let us know if you find the ACCESS97 file helpful.
Because of the size of the RECS database, the variables were grouped into 12 files by section of Household Questionnaire:
Several variables are frequently used in the analysis of residential energy data. These include the type of housing unit, the geographic location of the unit, and weather data for the location of the unit. The nine variables on all 12 files are:
Each of these 12 files can be used by itself or be merged with other files. By merging files together, a new file can be created that contains, for each respondent, variables from two or more files. The variable DOEID can be used to link the files.
The RECS sample was designed so that survey responses could be used to estimate characteristics of the national stock of occupied housing units. In order to arrive at national estimates from the RECS sample, base sampling weights for each housing unit, which were the reciprocal of the probability of that building being selected into the sample, were calculated. Therefore, a housing unit with a base weight of 10,000 represents itself and 9,999 similar, but unsampled housing units in the total stock of occupied residential housing units. The base weight is further adjusted to account for nonresponse bias. Finally, ratio adjustments were used to ensure that the RECS weights add up to Current Population Survey estimates of the number of households. The variable NWEIGHT in the data file is the final weight.
If the field interviewers were not successful in obtaining a personal interview, a short mail questionnaire was mailed to the housing unit. Variables not on the mail questionnaire were then imputed for the housing unit using a hot deck procedure. There were 181 observations obtained via a mail questionnaire. These 181 records can be identified using the variable MQRESULT.
The variables USEEL, USEFO, USEKERO, USELP, and USENG are indicator variables for the use electricity, fuel oil, kerosene, LPG, and natural gas in the housing unit. They are on three files. They were obtained using section H of the questionnaire and they are indicator variables that equal 1 if the households uses the corresponding fuel and 0 otherwise. In addition to being placed on the file with other section H data, they were also placed on the consumption data file and the expenditures data file.
The "Z variables" are also referred to as "imputation flags." Imputation is a statistical procedure used to fill in missing values for respondents that are otherwise considered to be complete. Missing values for many, but not all, of the variables were imputed in 1997. The imputation flag indicates whether the corresponding non-Z variable was based upon reported data (Z variable = 0) or was imputed (Z variable = 1). There are no corresponding "Z variables" for variables from the RECS questionnaire that were not imputed, variables where there was no missing data, and variables that are not from the questionnaire. The missing data codes for the consumption and expenditure data are contained in the "Characteristics of Energy Supplier Data" file.
There are no respondent names and address on these files. EIA does not receive nor take possession of the names or addresses of individual respondents or any other individually identifiable energy data that could be specifically linked with a housing unit. Local geographic identifiers and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Division identifiers are not included on these data files.
In addition, values for HDD65, CDD65, ELECRATE, and UGASRATE were altered slightly to mask the exact geographic location of the housing unit.
For each data file, a codebook is provided (both files are in ASCII format). For files based upon the Household Questionnaire, the corresponding section of the questionnaire is provided (PDF format). To view and/or print PDF files (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) Download Adobe Acrobat Reader .
Note: To DOWNLOAD one of the Text or PDF files below, click on the file of your choice to open it, then select FILE and SAVE AS, save file to your hard drive or a disk.
Because of the size of the RECS database, the fieldnames (581 unique names) were grouped into 26 tables by logical relationships within the RECS questionnaire:
Because we have renamed and reorganized the public use files into two formats, the historical user of RECS data may require further documentation on how the two formats link. The table named Pub Use Xwalk in the ACCESS97 file provides such linking; however, a detailed listing has been made available. Note: A "–" sign following a table name (i.e., a suffix) denotes a table with a record number of less than 5,900 housing units. A subset of the records are presented because the eliminated records are not applicable for the table. For example, only households that use the fuel kerosene are include in theKerosene Usage Characteristics table. Such modifications minimize the size of the ACCESS97 file while maintaining the analytical content of the RECS data. Field values that are blank are considered not applicable for that field name. Iin the case where a second refrigerator is not applicable to the household, for example, blank values have been place into the corresponding second refrigerator field name values.
Only one fieldname is common to each table: EIAEIAIDNum. This primary key fieldname represents the unique 4-digit identification number that EIA uses to identify a household record. Every attempt has been made to ensure an easy transition to the use of an ACCESS97-based public use file. Fieldnames have been renamed in "English" to guide the data user. In addition, captions for all fieldnames are available in the ACCESS97 file. These captions represent a 40-character definition of the fieldname. If this guidance is not sufficient for your data needs, then it is suggested that you employ the ASCII version of the public use files, along with the specified codebooks.
The RECS sample was designed so that survey responses could be used to estimate characteristics of the national stock of occupied housing units. In order to arrive at national estimates from the RECS sample, base sampling weights for each housing unit, which were the reciprocal of the probability of that building being selected into the sample, were calculated. Therefore, a housing unit with a base weight of 10,000 represents itself and 9,999 similar, but unsampled housing units in the total stock of occupied residential housing units. The base weight is further adjusted to account for nonresponse bias. Finally, ratio adjustments were used to ensure that the RECS weights add up to Current Population Survey estimates of the number of households. The fieldname FinalWeight in the data file is the final weight.
If the field interviewers were not successful in obtaining a personal interview, a short mail questionnaire was mailed to the housing unit. Fieldnames not on the mail questionnaire were then imputed for the housing unit using a hot deck procedure. There were 181 observations obtained via a mail questionnaire. These 181 records can be identified using the fieldname MailCodes.
The fieldnames UseELinHome, UseFOinHome, UseKeroinHome, UseLPGinHome, and UseUgasinHome are indicator variables for the use electricity, fuel oil, kerosene, LPG, and natural gas in the housing unit. They are on three files. They were obtained using section H of the questionnaire and they are indicator variables that equal Yes if the households uses the corresponding fuel and No otherwise. These indicator values are used to remove the household records from the ACCESS97 file. Note: A "–" sign following a table name (i.e., a suffix) denotes a table with a record number of less than 5,900 housing units. A subset of the records are presented because the eliminated records are not applicable for the table. For example, only households that use the fuel kerosene are include in the Kerosene Usage Characteristicstable. Such modifications minimize the size of the ACCESS97 file while maintaining the analytical content of the RECS data. Field values tha are blank are considered not applicable for that field name. Iin the case where a second refrigerator is not applicable to the household, for example, blank values have been place into the corresponding second refrigerator field name values.
The "FlagforZ fieldnames" are also referred to as "imputation flags." Imputation is a statistical procedure used to fill in missing values for respondents that are otherwise considered to be complete. Missing values for many, but not all, of the fieldnames were imputed in 1997. The imputation flag indicates whether the corresponding non-Z fieldname was based upon reported data (FlagforZ fieldname = No) or was imputed (FlagforZ fieldname = Yes). There are no corresponding "Z fieldnames" for fieldnames from the RECS questionnaire that were not imputed, fieldnames where there was no missing data, and fieldnames that are not from the questionnaire.
In addition, values for HDDtobase651-97to12-97, CDDtobase651-97to12-97, ELRatelocal, and UgasRate were altered slightly to mask the exact geographic location of the housing unit.
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Data collection for the 2024 RECS Energy Supplier Survey started in July 2025.
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