Energy Usage in the Built

Environment
Kelly T. Sanders, Ph.D.

October 13, 2020

The built environment represents 40% of US’
annual energy ese (includes electricity consumed at end use, but
generated in the power sector)

https://www.seas.ucla.edu/~pilon/PCMIntro.html

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 Residential Energy
Consumption

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A home built since 2000 consumed the same amount of energy
as one built in the 1960s despite being bigger, but trends in
energy consumption and cost vary by region

In 2017, people in the United

States consumed an average of 61
million British thermal units (Btu) of
energy per capita in the residential
sector, a 2% decrease from 2016
and the lowest level since 1967

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The way households use energy varies by geographic location,
structural features, equipment choices, and energy sources
used
• Electricity and natural gas
dominate fuel use in the
residential sector
• In 2015:
– 75% of U.S. households
used more than one source
of energy:
– 66% used electricity and
one other fuel
– 9% used three or more
sources.
– A quarter of households
used only electricity.
• Natural gas is the most-
used heating fuel in heated
homes in three of four
Census regions
• Energy use is trending
towards electrification over
time

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North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming consume the most residential energy
per capita due to extreme climates. The most populous states generally
consume the most energy.
States with higher per capita
residential energy consumption
generally experience
temperature extremes, have
lower population density, and
are more likely to have people
living in single-family homes
than other regions of the
country.

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Space cooling (17%), space heating (15%), and water
heating (14%) dominate residential energy use

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Climate is affecting energy usage in the
residential sector

• Space heating
consumption can vary
considerably by climate and
building characteristics,
while variation in water
heating consumption is
driven primarily by the
number of occupants in a
home
• Cooling is on the rise!

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Air-conditioning equipment is used in 87% of
homes in the United States
• The residential
sector’s electricity use
for cooling was about
214 billion kWh in
2018, which was equal
to about 15% of total
residential sector
electricity consumption
and 5% of total U.S.
electricity
consumption.
• Nearly 9 out of 10 U.S.
homes are air
conditioned by central
units, individual
(window, wall, or
portable) units, or both

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 Commercial Sector energy use

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 Space conditioning
and lighting drive
commercial energy
use

Top figure includes all fuels & electricity

Bottom figure is just electricity

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 Trends in heating & cooling in
the built environment

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Our Energy Use for the Built Environment Is
Driven By Climate Control
• Heating degree days
– # of days and # of degrees of heating
– 10 degree days could be 10 days with 1
degree of heating, or 1 day of 10 degrees of
heating
• Cooling degree days
– # of days and # of degrees of cooling
– 10 degree days could be 10 days with 1
degree of cooling, or 1 day of 10 degrees of
cooling

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 Heating degree days are decreasing over time;
heating is still mostly done with natural gas in
most regions

There are many sources for heat: electricity,

natural gas, propane, fuel oil. Natural gas is
the most utilized. Trends are towards
electricity. Source: EIA, AER (2011)

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Cooling degree days vary by region, and have been
rising nationally over time (electricity dominates
cooling energy use)

Most energy for cooling is electric

Source: EIA, AER (2011)

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 Electricity consumption after 80 degrees F is
highly correlated to temperature

“We find large increases in electricity consumption

on hot days, with essentially no offsetting impact
from reduced heating on cold days. Our results
also reveal the remarkable speed with which air
conditioning adoption increases with income.”

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©2015 by National Academy of Sciences
Lucas W. Davis, and Paul J. Gertler PNAS 2015;112:5962-5967
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Rising air conditioning costs is a concern for
environmental justice
• The average U.S. household spent $1,856 on
home energy bills in 2015.
• Nearly one-third of U.S. households (31%)
reported facing a challenge in paying energy
bills or sustaining adequate heating and cooling
in their homes in 2015
• About one in five households reported reducing
or forgoing necessities such as food and
medicine to pay an energy bill, and 14%
reported receiving a disconnection notice for
energy service
• Heat currently kills more people each year in the
US than storms, floods, and lightning combined

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 Kelly T. Sanders, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
ktsanders@usc.edu