Regional Energy Profile

EAST NORTH CENTRAL APPLIANCE REPORT  2001

Return to Regional Energy Profiles Return to Appliance Reports Subscribe to Our Listserv for Notice of New Products CONTENTS OF THIS REPORT Air-Conditioning Electric Appliances Gas Appliances U.S. Data Table East North Central Data Table LINKS TO RELATED DATA PRODUCTS East North Central Residential Energy Map East North Central Renewable Potential Map Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2001 Regional Energy Data Sources U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map East North Central State Pages: Illinois Indiana Michigan Ohio Wisconsin

The five midwestern States of the East North Central Census Division -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin -- all border the Great Lakes. The 17 million households account for about 16 percent of all U.S. households. Annual precipitation in the Division averages 36 inches, more than the U.S. average of 30 inches. The cold winters of the Great Lakes region mean that space-heating requirements are higher, on average, than in the United States as a whole. East North Central households consumed 2.3 quadrillion Btu of energy, about 23 percent of nationwide household energy consumption of 10.2 quadrillion Btu in 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available). Of household energy consumption in the East North Central States, approximately 22 percent was used to operate air-conditioners and appliances (including refrigerators). Nationwide, 31 percent was used. The lower share of energy consumption devoted to air-conditioning and appliances in the East North Central States, when compared with the United States as a whole, is attributable to the colder climate, where relatively more household energy resources are devoted to space and water heating. AIR-CONDITIONING Air-conditioning is an energy-intensive activity that affects household energy consumption. Despite milder summers in the East North Central States, the incidence of air-conditioning during the 1980-2001 period was similar to the national average. From 1980 through 2001, the share of U.S. households with air-conditioning rose from 57 percent to 77 percent (U.S. Data Table), and the share of East North Central households rose from 52 percent to 80 percent (East North Central Data Table). In 1980, individual room air-conditioners were more common than central air-conditioning. Nationwide, 30 percent of households had room units, compared with 27 percent with central air-conditioning. In the East North Central States, the difference was more pronounced: 32 percent of households had room units, compared with only 20 percent with central air-conditioning.

By 2001, central air-conditioning had become more common than individual units in most regions of the country, including the East North Central States. Nationwide, more than twice as many households (55 percent) had central air-conditioning as had individual units only (23 percent). The same was true in the East North Central States, where the share of households with central air-conditioning was 56 percent and the share of households with individual units was 24 percent. ELECTRIC APPLIANCES The East North Central Division mirrors the United States as a whole in regard to the some of the most common electric appliances, particularly those appliances exhibiting definite increases in market share over the 1980-2001 period. In both the United States as a whole and in the East North Central Division, the microwave oven showed the most dramatic increase in absolute market share from 1980 through 2001 of any electric appliance in the EIA survey. The share of microwave ovens in U.S. households rose from 14 percent in 1980 to 86 percent in 2001. Similarly, the share of microwave ovens in East North Central States rose from 15 percent to 90 percent. As another example, color television sets became almost ubiquitous over the 1980-2001 period, and the nationwide increase in market share was reflected in the East North Central States. From 1980 through 2001, the shares of color TVs rose from 82 percent nationwide and 84 percent in the East North Central States to 99 percent and 100 percent, respectively. The market share of personal computers (PCs), the newest of the two dozen or so household appliances covered in the survey, also grew rapidly from 1990 (the first survey year in which data on PCs were collected) through 2001. Nationwide, only 16 percent of households had PCs in 1990, but by 2001, 56 percent had them. The growth in the prevalence of PCs was similar in the East North Central States, where the share rose from 15 percent in 1990 to 58 percent in 2001. Other electric appliances, however, were more common nationwide than in the East North Central States throughout the 1980-2001 period. In 1980, 37 percent of U.S. households had dishwashers, while only 29 percent of East North Central households did. In 2001, 53 percent of U.S. households had dishwashers, compared with 47 percent of East North Central households. Clothes dryers also were more common nationwide throughout the 1980-2001 period. In 1980, 47 percent of U.S. households had electric clothes dryers, compared with 45 percent in the East North Central States. In 2001, 57 percent of U.S. households had them, compared with 49 percent. In contrast, some electric appliances were less common nationwide. For example, 65 percent of U.S. households had ceiling fans in 2001, compared with 72 percent of East North Central households. Dehumidifiers also were less common in the United States as a whole. Nationwide, the share of households with dehumidifiers ranged from 9 to 12 percent1 during the 1980-2001 period, compared with 16 to 24 percent of households in the East North Central States. Pumps for well water and waterbed heaters also were less common in U.S. households than in East North Central households. GAS APPLIANCES The East North Central States have extensive natural gas pipeline systems, and major gas appliances are more prevalent in East North Central households than in U.S. households overall. In 2001, gas ranges had a 39-percent market share nationwide, whereas in the East North Central States they had a 44-percent share. The trend from 1980 through 2001, both nationally and in the East North Central States, was a decrease in the share of homes with gas ranges and an increase in the share of homes with electric ranges. Similarly, gas clothes dryers were found more frequently in East North Central households throughout the 1980-2001 period. In 1980, gas dryers were found in 26 percent of East North Central households, compared with 14 percent of U.S. households. In 2001, gas dryers were found in 27 percent of East North Central households and only 17 percent of U.S. households. In both areas, the shares of gas dryers fluctuated during the intervening years, and no long-term trends were verifiable. Of the five gas appliances in the EIA survey, outdoor gas grills penetrated the residential market the fastest. From 1980 through 1993 (the latest year for which EIA collected gas grill data), outdoor gas grills were found more frequently in East North Central households than in U.S. households. From 9-percent shares in 1980, the prevalence of outdoor gas grills rose to 29 percent of all U.S. households and to 32 percent of all East North Central households in 1993. ________________ 1Ranges are determined by using rounded values for shares.

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File last modified: July 17, 2003

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