Due to such factors as a large population, a relatively cold climate, and an aging stock of housing, New York ranked third among the States in residential energy consumption.





Relatively few New York households relied on electricity as their main source of home heating.

































Normally cool summer weather is one reason New York's consumption of electricity for air-conditioning was below the national average.








The amount of electricity used to operate refrigerators averaged only 947 kWh per unit in New York, well below the national average.



















Thirty-two percent of New York households reported having electric clothes dryers, compared with a 57-percent share nationwide.



















Through 2007, residential electricity demand and prices in the Middle Atlantic Census Division, which includes New York, are expected to increase.
























In July 2005, New York established energy efficiency standards for 13 products, including ceiling fan light kits and consumer electronics.

Electricity Consumption | Efficiency Standards | Table NY-1 | Figures | Sources

Note to Readers: The following report presents newly released State statistics for 2001. The statistics are derived from data collected by the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, a household survey conducted every 4 years by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Similar State statistics from the 2005 survey are anticipated to be available in 2007.

New York's residential sector consumed 1.2 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2001—the third highest total among the States and the equivalent of more than 1 percent of U.S. total energy consumption in all economic sectors that year. The primary determinants of residential energy consumption in New York, as in other States, were population and climate. Larger populations and colder climates are correlated with higher energy consumption. New York was the third most populous State, with most of the population living in urban areas, particularly metropolitan New York and Buffalo. In addition, New York is located in the northeastern United States, one of the coldest regions on the country. An aging housing stock also played a role. Typically, an older housing unit will consume more energy than will a newer housing unit for space heating, which is one of the most energy-intensive household activities. In New York, about 9 out of 10 housing units were built before 1980, compared with 7 out of 10 units nationwide.

In residential electricity consumption, however, New York ranked seventh. New York households consumed 42 billion kilowatthours of electricity, 3.7 percent of the U.S. total (Table NY-1). Several factors tended to restrain residential electricity demand in New York relative to other parts of the country. Although cold winter weather and older housing stock increased demand for home heating generally, electric heating was rare in New York: only 6.7 percent of New York households relied on electricity as their main source of home heating, compared with 29 percent nationwide. Cooler summer weather in New York meant that fewer New York housing units had installed air-conditioning—69 percent, compared with 77 percent in the United States as a whole. In addition, electricity cost more in New York than in most other regions of the country, and, although personal income per capita of $35,622 exceeded the U.S. average of $30,575, about 36 percent of households were eligible for government assistance in paying their energy bills, compared with 32 percent of U.S. households.


NEW YORK HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2001

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A New York household consumed, on average, roughly half as much electricity as did a U.S. household: 5,974 kilowatthours (kWh), compared with 10,656 kilowatthours. The most significant end use was the operation of kitchen appliances.

HVAC and Water Heating

In New York, the share of residential electricity consumption devoted to heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating was lower than in the United States as a whole: 24 percent of the New York total (Figure NY-1), compared with 40 percent of the U.S. total.

More than four out of five households had access to natural gas, and most New York households used natural gas or fuel oil, rather than electricity, for space and water heating. Out of the 7.1 million households in New York, only 0.5 million used electricity as their main energy source for space heating. The 2.5 billion kWh of electricity consumed for space heating (Figure NY-2) accounted for just 5.8 percent of New York's total household electricity consumption in 2001. More households—0.9 million—used electricity for water heating, but the share of New York households using electric water heaters (13 percent) was still much smaller than the share of U.S. households (38 percent). The 2.1 billion kWh consumed for water heating in New York represented a 4.9-percent share of the State's household electricity consumption total.

Air-conditioning use of electricity totaled 3.3 billion kWh (Figure NY-2), only 7.8 percent of New York's total household electricity consumption. By comparison, air-conditioning accounted for 16 percent of the U.S. total. One reason New York's consumption of electricity for air-conditioning was below the national average is that New York's summer weather is normally cooler than the U.S. average. Cooling degree-days, one measure of the need for household cooling, averaged 988 per New York household, much lower than the 1,407 cooling degree-days per U.S. household. Only 69 percent of New York households had air-conditioners, compared with 77 percent nationwide, and New York's stock of air-conditioning equipment was, on average, newer than the U.S. stock. In New York, air-conditioning was a smaller end use than refrigerators, lighting, or home electronics, whereas it was the single biggest end use of electricity nationwide.

Kitchen and Laundry Appliances

The operation of kitchen appliances in New York households consumed 14 billion kWh in 2001 (Figure NY-3), a 32-percent share of total household electricity consumption. In New York, as elsewhere, refrigerators consumed more electricity than all other kitchen appliances combined. However, the amount of electricity used to operate refrigerators averaged only 947 kWh per unit in New York, much less than the 1,239 kWh-per-unit average nationwide. A likely explanation is that primary refrigerators (the most-used refrigerators in homes with multiple refrigerators) were, on average, newer and, therefore, probably more efficient in New York than in the United States as a whole. And although New York's secondary refrigerators were older than the national average, relatively fewer households had them (13 percent of households in New York, compared with 17 percent of households nationwide). Other possible reasons for the lower per-unit consumption in New York include cooler summer weather and the smaller size, on average, of the refrigerators.

In New York households, separate freezers were less common and consumed less electricity per unit. Freezers were found in only 17 percent of New York households, compared with 32 percent of U.S. households. Per-unit consumption in 2001 averaged 842 kWh.

Another way in which New York differed from the United States in electricity usage was that, in general, New Yorkers had fewer electric cooking appliances. For example, electric range tops were the "most used range" in 35 percent of New York households, compared with 60 percent of U.S. households. Similarly, electric ovens were the "most used oven" in 35 percent of households, compared with 59 percent of U.S. households. Only 39 percent of New York households had dishwashers, compared with 53 percent in U.S. households, and 74 percent had microwave ovens, compared with 86 percent.

Clothes dryers used more electricity than any other major U.S. household appliance except refrigerators in 2001. In New York, they accounted for 4.6 percent of household electricity consumption, about the same as the U.S. average of 5.8 percent. Thirty-two percent of New York households reported having electric clothes dryers, compared with a 57-percent share nationwide. One possible explanation is the fact that more than half of New York's 7.1 million households lived in housing units in multi-family buildings, compared with one fourth of U.S. households. More multi-unit housing could be correlated with more shared appliances, reducing the number of households reporting clothes dryers. Another factor that may have restrained demand for electricity for clothes drying was the lower per-household consumption in New York. New York households consumed an average of 865 kWh of electricity to operate clothes dryers, compared with U.S. household consumption averaging 1,079 kWh.

Lighting and Home Electronics

Lighting and home electronics were both significant electricity end uses in New York in 2001. Lighting (including indoor and outdoor uses) consumed 6.7 billion kWh, a 16-percent share of total household electricity consumption. Home electronics consumed 5.4 billion kWh (Figure NY-4) and accounted for 13 percent of household electricity consumption, higher than in the United States as a whole. Color TVs alone accounted for 5.1 percent of the New York total. PCs, printers, and VCR/DVD players were the next biggest consumers of electricity in the home electronics category.


THE OUTLOOK FOR ELECTRICITY PRICES AND CONSUMPTION

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EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (January 2006) provides projections for the Middle Atlantic Census Division, which comprises New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. According to the Outlook, U.S. electricity demand is expected to increase in the short term (from 2005 to 2007) in response to continuing economic growth. Retail sales of electricity to the residential sector in the Middle Atlantic States are projected to increase 3.4 percent from 2005 to 2007, higher than the projected U.S. average increase of 2.7 percent. In response to higher utility fuel prices, U.S. electricity prices also are expected to increase. The price of electricity sold to the Middle Atlantic’s residential sector is projected to rise to 13 cents per kWh in 2007, while the national average is projected to rise to 9.9 cents per kWh.

Over the long term, however, electricity demand in the Middle Atlantic States is expected to grow more slowly than in most other regions of the country, and prices, when adjusted for inflation, are expected to be slightly lower in 2025 than they were in 2003. EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2005 indicates that, from 2003 to 2025, retail sales of electricity to residential consumers in the Middle Atlantic States are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 0.9 percent per year, compared with a projected growth rate of 1.6 percent per year for sales to all U.S. residential consumers. Middle Atlantic prices of residential electricity are projected to be 8.0 percent lower in 2025; U.S. prices are projected to be 4.6 percent lower.


EFFICIENCY STANDARDS IN NEW YORK

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New York participates in the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to promote regional energy efficiency. Its Minimum Efficiency Standards Project was established in 2001 to look for ways to use minimum efficiency standards to increase energy efficiency; it now also advocates for enactment of standards. The Standards Project has focused on 19 products, including several that are used primarily in households: residential furnaces/boilers, furnace fans, torchiere lighting fixtures, ceiling fan lights, television adaptor boxes, and external power supplies (such as those that charge cell phones).

New York established standards for 13 products in July 2005. The products included ceiling fan light kits and consumer electronics, particularly those that use electricity while in stand-by mode, such as digital TV adapters, DVD players, and VCRs. New York also introduced legislation that would exempt Energy Star appliances from some taxes during two 7-day periods each year.

Energy efficiency standards originally adopted by several States were included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which covers residential appliances such as ceiling fans and light kits, dehumidifiers, torchieres, and fluorescent lamps and ballasts. New tax credits for energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in households became effective on January 1, 2006. Residential energy consumption in New York and elsewhere also will be affected by new standards for air-conditioners and clothes washers. Air-conditioners manufactured after January 23, 2006, will be required to have a minimum Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio of 13. Effective January 1, 2007, Energy Star clothes washers will be required to have a minimum Modified Energy Factor of 1.72 cubic feet per kWh per cycle and a maximum Water Factor of 8 gallons per cycle per cubic foot, new standards that are intended to save water as well as energy.