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Table HC7.9 Air conditioning in U.S. homes by home size, 20151

Release date: October 2017
Revised date: May 2018

Number of housing units (million)
Size of home in square feet3
  Total U.S.2 Fewer
than 1,000		 1,000
to 1,499		 1,500
to 1,999 		 2,000
to 2,499		 2,500
to 2,999		 3,000
or greater
All homes 118.2 26.6 26.1 17.5 14.1 10.8 23.1
Air-conditioning equipment              
Use air-conditioning equipment 102.8 21.5 22.6 15.5 12.5 9.7 21.0
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 15.4 5.1 3.6 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
Type of air-conditioning equipment used (more than one may apply)              
Use central air-conditioning equipment 76.1 11.4 16.5 12.4 9.9 7.7 18.1
Without a heat pump 55.4 8.4 11.9 8.9 7.2 5.8 13.1
With a heat pump 20.7 3.0 4.5 3.5 2.7 1.9 5.0
Use individual air-conditioning units 32.1 10.6 7.1 4.1 3.3 2.6 4.4
With 1 unit 15.9 6.6 3.0 1.9 1.5 0.9 1.9
With 2 units 9.6 3.0 2.5 1.1 1.1 0.8 1.1
With 3 or more units 6.6 1.1 1.6 1.0 0.7 0.8 1.4
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 15.4 5.1 3.6 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
Central air-conditioning equipment age              
Less than 2 years old 8.3 1.7 1.9 1.1 1.0 0.8 1.9
2 to 4 years old 11.7 2.2 2.8 1.6 1.5 1.1 2.5
5 to 9 years old 22.4 3.1 5.1 3.8 3.0 2.4 5.0
10 to 14 years old 17.2 2.1 3.3 3.3 2.3 1.8 4.5
15 to 19 years old 9.2 0.9 2.0 1.4 1.3 0.9 2.8
20 or more years old 7.3 1.5 1.4 1.2 0.8 0.8 1.4
Do not use central air-conditioning equipment 42.1 15.1 9.7 5.1 4.2 3.1 5.0
Have thermostat for central air-conditioning equipment              
Yes 74.7 10.9 16.1 12.2 9.9 7.7 17.9
Programmable thermostat 47.9 5.9 9.0 7.8 6.6 5.0 13.7
Non-programmable thermostat 26.8 5.0 7.2 4.4 3.3 2.7 4.2
No 1.4 0.5 0.3 0.2 Q Q Q
Do not use central air-conditioning equipment 42.1 15.1 9.7 5.1 4.2 3.1 5.0
Central air-conditioning equipment control              
Set one temperature and leave it there most of the time 34.0 5.7 8.5 6.2 4.1 3.1 6.5
Manually adjust the temperature at night or when no one is at home 19.6 3.0 4.3 3.0 2.8 2.3 4.2
Program the thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature during the day and night at certain times 13.7 0.8 1.6 2.1 2.1 1.5 5.5
Turn equipment on or off as needed 8.8 2.0 2.0 1.1 0.9 0.8 2.0
Household does not have control over the equipment Q N Q N Q N N
Do not use central air-conditioning equipment 42.1 15.1 9.7 5.1 4.2 3.1 5.0
Most-used individual air-conditioning unit age              
Less than 2 years old 6.4 2.4 1.3 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.6
2 to 4 years old 10.0 3.2 2.5 1.3 1.1 0.8 1.1
5 to 9 years old 9.8 2.5 2.3 1.4 0.9 0.7 1.9
10 to 14 years old 3.7 1.5 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.5
15 to 19 years old 1.3 0.5 0.3 Q Q Q Q
20 or more years old 1.1 0.5 Q Q Q Q Q
Do not use individual air-conditioning units 86.1 16.0 19.1 13.3 10.8 8.2 18.7
Most-used individual air-conditioning unit control              
Set one temperature and leave it there most of the time 9.8 3.2 2.7 1.3 0.9 0.7 1.0
Manually adjust the temperature at night or when no one is at home 5.8 1.8 1.3 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.8
Program the thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature during the day and night at certain times 1.5 0.4 0.4 0.2 Q Q Q
Turn equipment on or off as needed 14.8 5.2 2.6 1.7 1.6 1.2 2.4
Some other way Q Q Q N N Q N
Do not use individual air-conditioning units 86.1 16.0 19.1 13.3 10.8 8.2 18.7
Summer indoor daytime temperature when someone is home              
69 degrees or less 19.9 5.3 5.0 2.7 2.1 1.8 3.0
70 degrees 17.4 4.0 4.1 2.5 2.1 1.5 3.1
71 to 73 degrees 20.5 3.1 4.2 3.6 2.8 2.2 4.7
74 to 76 degrees 26.3 5.2 4.9 3.9 2.9 2.6 6.6
77 to 79 degrees 13.0 2.1 2.9 2.0 1.8 1.3 2.9
80 degrees or more 5.7 1.6 1.4 0.9 0.7 0.4 0.7
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 15.4 5.1 3.6 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
Summer indoor daytime temperature when no one is home              
69 degrees or less 14.0 3.5 3.7 2.0 1.5 1.4 1.9
70 degrees 13.0 2.9 3.3 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
71 to 73 degrees 14.5 2.4 2.6 2.4 1.9 1.8 3.5
74 to 76 degrees 25.5 4.9 5.2 3.8 3.3 2.3 6.0
77 to 79 degrees 15.9 2.9 3.3 2.5 1.7 1.4 4.0
80 degrees or more 19.9 4.9 4.4 2.8 2.6 1.7 3.6
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 15.4 5.1 3.6 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
Summer indoor temperature at night              
69 degrees or less 25.8 6.3 6.3 3.6 2.9 2.3 4.3
70 degrees 20.0 4.6 4.5 3.0 2.4 1.7 3.8
71 to 73 degrees 19.1 3.1 3.9 3.1 2.8 1.9 4.2
74 to 76 degrees 23.3 4.7 4.7 3.4 2.5 2.3 5.7
77 to 79 degrees 10.4 1.8 2.0 1.6 1.5 1.2 2.3
80 degrees or more 4.2 1.0 1.2 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.7
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 15.4 5.1 3.6 2.0 1.6 1.1 2.1
Air-conditioned basement              
Yes 14.2 Q 0.6 1.4 2.3 2.6 7.2
No 17.5 Q 1.2 2.0 3.3 3.6 7.3
Not asked (air-conditioned homes with no basement) 39.9 3.5 9.9 10.4 6.1 3.4 6.6
Not asked (un-air-conditioned homes, apartments, and mobile homes) 46.7 22.8 14.5 3.7 2.4 1.2 2.1
Air-conditioned attic              
Yes 1.6 N Q Q Q 0.3 0.8
No 39.9 1.2 5.0 7.7 6.6 5.4 14.1
Not asked (air-conditioned homes with no attic) 30.0 2.5 6.5 5.9 4.9 4.0 6.1
Not asked (un-air-conditioned homes, apartments, and mobile homes) 46.7 22.8 14.5 3.7 2.4 1.2 2.1
Air-conditioned, attached garage              
Yes 1.0 Q Q Q 0.3 0.2 0.5
No 41.1 1.4 5.5 7.1 6.3 5.5 15.4
Not asked (air-conditioned homes with no attached garage) 29.4 2.4 6.1 6.6 5.2 4.0 5.2
Not asked (un-air-conditioned homes, apartments, and mobile homes) 46.7 22.8 14.5 3.7 2.4 1.2 2.1
Dehumidifiers and usage              
Have a dehumidifier 16.7 0.8 1.8 2.1 2.4 2.8 6.7
Do not use 0.4 Q Q Q Q Q Q
Used less than 4 months 5.5 0.4 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 2.0
Used 4 to 6 months 6.5 0.3 0.4 0.8 1.0 1.0 3.0
Used 7 to 9 months 2.0 N Q Q 0.4 0.5 0.8
Used 10 to 11 months Q N N Q Q Q Q
Turned on all 12 months 2.1 Q 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.8
Do not have a dehumidifier 101.5 25.7 24.4 15.3 11.7 8.0 16.4
Use an evaporative or swamp cooler (asked only in arid areas)              
Yes 2.8 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.5
No 54.8 13.1 14.7 9.4 6.2 3.6 7.9
Not asked 60.6 13.0 10.7 7.6 7.6 7.0 14.7
Fan types used (more than one may apply)              
Ceiling fans 85.1 12.5 18.3 13.8 11.6 8.9 19.9
Floor, window, or table fans 54.4 13.6 12.3 7.7 6.4 4.8 9.5
Whole house fans 6.1 0.3 0.8 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.9
Attic fans 8.7 0.2 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.4 3.5
Number of ceiling fans used              
0 33.1 14.0 7.9 3.7 2.5 1.9 3.2
1 21.3 6.1 5.4 2.5 2.6 1.5 3.0
2 18.8 3.6 4.4 2.9 2.2 1.8 3.9
3 15.2 1.8 4.1 2.6 1.9 1.6 3.3
4 or more 29.8 1.0 4.4 5.8 4.9 4.0 9.7
1Housing characteristics data were collected between August 2015 and April 2016.
2Total U.S. includes all primary occupied housing units in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Vacant housing units, seasonal units, second homes, military houses, and group quarters are excluded.
3Total square footage includes all basements, finished or conditioned (heated or cooled) areas of attics, and conditioned garage space that is attached to the home. Unconditioned and unfinished areas in attics and attached garages are excluded. The square footage for some housing units was calculated based on measurements taken by the interviewer. For households responding without the presence of an interviewer, square footage was imputed based on characteristics of the housing unit. See 2015 RECS Square Footage Methodology for full details about data collection and processing.

Q = Data withheld because either the Relative Standard Error (RSE) was greater than 50% or fewer than 10 households responded.
N = No cases responded.

Notes:  Because of rounding, data may not sum to totals.  See RECS Terminology for definition of terms used in these tables.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Consumption and Efficiency Statistics, Forms EIA-457A and EIA-457C of the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.