| Regional Energy Profile |
| NEW ENGLAND APPLIANCE REPORT 2001 |
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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 New England Data Table LINKS TO RELATED DATA PRODUCTS New England Data Abstract New England Residential Energy Map New England Renewable Potential Map Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2001 Regional Energy Data Sources U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map New England State Pages: Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont |
The New England States
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) are the northernmost States on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The 5 million New England households account for about 5 percent of all U.S. households. A typical New England winter is much colder than the national average, and household heating requirements are also higher. New England summers are also significantly cooler than the national average, and air-conditioning requirements are lower. In 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available), New England households consumed 0.65 quadrillion Btu of energy, about 6 percent of nationwide household energy consumption in 1997 of 10.2 quadrillion Btu. Of household energy consumption in New England, less than 17 percent was used to operate air-conditioners and appliances (including refrigerators). Nationwide, 31 percent was used. The low amount of energy used to operate air-conditioning and appliances in New England can be attributed in part to much lower demand for air-conditioning. Even when adjusted for differences in summer temperatures, the energy intensity of air-conditioning tends to be lower in New England than in other parts of the country. That is, under the same temperature conditions, the amount of energy used to cool a given indoor area in New England would be lower than in the rest of the country. In addition, per-household consumption of energy to operate appliances tends to be lower in New England than in the United States as a whole. AIR-CONDITIONING In other parts of the country, the prevalence of air-conditioning rose sharply from 1980 through 2001. Nationwide, the share of households with air-conditioning rose from 57 percent to 77 percent (U.S. Data Table). In New England, however, the share was much lower and stayed low compared with the nationwide share. In 1980, 42 percent of New England households were air-conditioned and, in 2001, 58 percent were (New England Data Table). In 1980, individual room air-conditioners were more common than central air-conditioning in the United States as a whole. Thirty percent of households had individual units, compared with 27 percent with central air-conditioning. In New England, the difference was much more pronounced: 35 percent of households had room units, while only 7 percent had central air-conditioning. |