Consumption & Efficiency
Energy In Brief
What are the major sources and users of energy in the United States?
The major energy sources in the United States are petroleum (oil), natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy. The major users are residential and commercial buildings, industry, transportation, and electric power generators. The pattern of fuel use varies widely by sector. For example, oil provides 93% of the energy used for transportation, but only about 1% of the energy used to generate electric power.
How can we compare or add up our energy consumption?
To compare or aggregate energy consumption across different energy sources like oil, natural gas, and electricity, we must use a common unit of measure. This is similar to calculating your food energy intake by adding up the calories in whatever you eat.
Energy Explained
How We Use Energy
The United States is a highly developed and industrialized society. We use a lot of energy in our homes, in businesses, in industry, and for personal travel and transporting goods.
Features
Annual Energy Review Consumption Statistics
Released September 27, 2012
A report of annual energy statistics through 2011. Included are data for energy consumption by source and by sector.
Energy Characteristics and Energy Consumed in Large Hospital Buildings in the United States in 2007
Release Date: August 17, 2012
Includes estimates of building characteristics, energy sources, end uses, energy management features, energy consumption, and water consumption for hospital buildings greater than 200,000 square feet.
RECS data show decreased energy consumption per household
Release Date: June 6, 2012
Total United States energy consumption in homes has remained relatively stable for many years as increased energy efficiency has offset the increase in the number and average size of housing units, according to the from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).
The impact of increasing home size on energy demand
Released April 19, 2012According to Housing Unit Size data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2009, homes built since 1990 are on average 27% larger than homes built in earlier decades. This is a significant trend because most energy end-uses are correlated with the size of the home.
Energy consumption in the manufacturing sector decreased between 2006 and 2010
Released March 28, 2012
Energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector fell from 21,098 trillion Btu (tBtu) in 2006 to 19,062 tBtu in 2010, a decline of almost 10 percent, based on preliminary estimates released from the 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS). This decline continues the downward trend in manufacturing energy use since the 1998 MECS report.
End-use consumption
data & surveys
Residential Energy Consumption (RECS)
Commercial Building Energy Consumption (CBECS)
Sector totals:
Consumption and efficiency
analysis & projections
Annual Energy Outlook 2012:
