How is electricity used in U.S. homes?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) conducts the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). The RECS includes detailed data on the types of electrical devices in U.S. households (including cooling and heating equipment, electronics, lighting, refrigerators, and water heaters) and electricity consumption by type of end use. Selected data are available for each state. State-level data are also presented in the RECS Dashboard.
Additional information is available in:
- Electricity use in homes
- Over one-quarter of U.S. households use electricity as the only source of energy
- Nearly 90% of U.S. households used air conditioning in 2020
- Nearly half of U.S. households use LED bulbs for all or most of their indoor lighting
- Per capita U.S. residential electricity use was flat in 2020, but varied by state
EIA also publishes projections for U.S. residential sector electricity consumption by type of major end use in the Annual Energy Outlook, Reference case, Table 4: Residential sector key indicators and consumption.
Last updated: March 6, 2024.
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