The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) is the only comprehensive source of national-level data on energy-related information for U.S. households. The RECS is a Congressionally- mandated survey and the responsibility of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.

These official government statistics are used by policy decision makers at the Federal, State, and local levels. The RECS data provides critical data into EIA’s National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). The NEMS is used as a guide in government planning for the future energy needs of the U.S. Other data users include the staff of Federal and State offices who administer the Low Income Energy Assistance Programs (LIHEAP) and weatherization programs. Universities use the data for energy research as well as Boy Scouts working on an energy badge and even households use the data when deciding on what type of heating system to purchase.

For the 2005 RECS, a personal interview took place at over 4,000 households. Each household represents over 30,000 similar households. The survey data was statistically adjusted to represent the entire U.S. Information collected includes: housing unit characteristics, appliances, household characteristics, the types of fuels used, and other information that relates to energy use. After adjusting the household billing data to represent the entire US., energy consumption and expenditures data was estimated for the entire U.S. for each of the major fuels: natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and kerosene.

For more information, contact the RECS Survey Manager at EIA:
Stephanie.Battles@eia.doe.gov
1-800-832-0885 ext: 67237 or 202 586-7237


For more information on the RECS please see:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs