Regional Energy Profile

PACIFIC 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 Pacific Data Table LINKS TO RELATED DATA PRODUCTS Pacific Residential Energy Map Pacific Renewable Potential Map Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2001 Regional Energy Data Sources U.S. Census Regions and Divisions Map Pacific State Pages: Alaska California Hawaii Oregon Washington

The Pacific Division comprises five States: Alaska, Hawaii, and three contiguous States on the western seaboard of the United States -- California, Oregon, and Washington. Climates vary widely from State to State in the Pacific Division, meaning that normal winter and summer temperatures also vary widely. On average, the Pacific Division experiences warmer winters than does the United States as a whole, and somewhat cooler summers. Precipitation averages 27 inches per year, close to the national average of 30 inches per year. Households in the Pacific States consumed 1.05 quadrillion Btu of energy in 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available). That consumption accounted for about 10 percent of the nationwide total of 10.2 quadrillion Btu. About 37 percent of Pacific household energy was used to operate appliances (including refrigerators) and to run electric air-conditioning. That share is higher than the share for the United States as a whole (31 percent). Among the 17 million households in the Pacific Division in 2001, gas appliances were more common than among U.S. households, and air-conditioning and most electric appliances were less common. AIR-CONDITIONING Air-conditioning is less common in the Pacific Division than in any other U.S. Census Division. Air-conditioning of any kind is found in fewer than two out of four households, whereas nationwide it is found in three out of four. In all U.S. households, the prevalence of air-conditioning increased significantly from 57 percent of households in 1980 to 77 percent of households in 2001 (U.S. Data Table). Over the same period, the prevalence of air-conditioning in Pacific households increased from 34 percent in 1980 to 44 percent in 2001 (Pacific Data Table).

In the mid-1980s, the number of households with central air-conditioning nationwide began to exceed the number of households with only room units. (Households with both central air-conditioning and room units are counted as "central.") In the Pacific, the number of households with central air-conditioning exceeded the number with room units throughout the 1980-2001 period. By 2001, 30 percent of Pacific households had central air-conditioning, and only 13 percent had room units only. By comparison, 55 percent of U.S. households overall had central air-conditioning in 2001 and 23 percent had room units only. ELECTRIC APPLIANCES Throughout the 1980-2001 period, Pacific households were less likely to have almost any particular electric appliance except personal computers than were households nationwide. Clothes washers, for example, were found in 79 percent of U.S. households in 2001 and only 70 percent of Pacific households. Clothes dryers were found in 47 percent of U.S. households in 1980 and 57 percent in 2001, whereas the frequency of clothes dryers in Pacific households ranged from 40 to 43 percent.1 Dehumidifiers and ceiling fans were also less in demand in the Pacific States. Dehumidifiers were found in 1 percent of Pacific households in 2001, compared with 11 percent nationwide, and ceiling fans were found in 45 percent of Pacific households, compared with 65 percent nationwide. Personal computers were the only electric appliances that were clearly more common among Pacific households than among households nationwide. Personal computers were found in 62 percent of Pacific household in 2001, compared with 56 percent of U.S. households overall. Personal computers were more common in Pacific households than in U.S. households throughout the 1990-2001 period. GAS APPLIANCES Appliances that use natural gas or, less frequently, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), are referred to as "gas appliances." In the Pacific Division, as in the United States as a whole, about three out of four homes have access to natural gas in their neighborhoods. On average, however, gas appliances were found more frequently in Pacific households than in U.S. households. Gas clothes dryers, for example, were found in 23 percent of Pacific households, compared with 17 percent of U.S. households. Similarly, gas ranges were found in 47 percent of Pacific households and only 39 percent U.S. households. ________________     1Ranges are determined by using rounded values for shares.

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File last modified: July 17, 2003

URL:  http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/appli/pacific.html