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This is actually a common misconception: in the US (as in most OECD countries), households consume slightly more energy than the industry. As a case in point,

by othello 13y ago

This is actually a common misconception: in the US (as in most OECD countries), households consume slightly more energy than the industry. As a case in point, in 2009, industry consumed 256 million tons of oil equivalent, versus 262 mtoe for the residential sector (ie households). http://www.iea.org/stats/balancetable.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=US http://www.iea.org/stats/balancetable.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=US

scurvy 13y ago
Most energy consumption in the US goes towards heating and cooling, not illumination. Making your house more energy efficient starts with your windows and doors, not your lightbulbs.
- othello 13y ago
  Obviously, that's right. I was just pointing out that in the aggregate, improvements to energy efficiency in the residential sector are not a "tiny, tiny drop" vis-a-vis industry as the GP was implying. And it's also true that residential lighting is not a big energy consumer, even though it still represents close to 10% of US electricity use (not of overall energy use, of course). http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/light2006.pdf http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication...
- lutorm 13y ago
  That depends -- the energy wasted by illumination needs to be cooled away (if you live in a climate where cooling is necessary, obviously), which not only uses energy but also increases the necessary size of the HVAC unit needed. This can be significant in places with a lot of lights so more applies to offices than residences. OTOH, if you live in a climate where heating is necessary, and even more if you heat with electric heat, there's obviously little gain to be had by switching to LEDs.
  - hellgas00 13y ago
    It's a given that most bulbs are located on the ceiling, unless you have a fan to redistribute that heat to the ground you aren't feeling the warmth. Also, when lights are off you still need to heat the house. Unless you're using the bulbs during the day, your HVAC unit will need to be just as big.
Lagged2Death 13y ago
That's a difficult chart for an outsider to interpret. How are there electricity exports if there is no electricity production? How do they count "industry" and "residential?" In any case, I'll note that the "residential" line does indeed read 262 mtoe but the "production" line at the top is 1,686 mtoe, leaving the "residential" category consuming something like 15% of total production. Most novices and outsiders would probably be content to count non-residential energy use as "industrial," even if that doesn't match the IEA's more detailed classification. Especially energy-intensive commercial activities that I imagine must make up the "transport" category (like aviation, trucking, railroads, and shipping).
- othello 13y ago
  I agree that this table is a bit confusing ;) Actually, residential energy consumption is expressed in final energy terms. This is the actual consumption by end-users of energy carriers (e.g. electricity, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc...). The sum of all these end-use consumption is the Total Final Consumption (or TFC). This is to be distinguished from primary energy sources (crude oil, coal, natural gas, etc...), which are used to produce the energy carriers that end-users consume (e.g. in a power plant to produce electricity, or in a refinery to produce gasoline). The sum of all primary energy sources consumption is the Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES). Since residential energy consumption is reported in final terms, the correct denominator to calculate the share you were looking for is TFC. Residential energy consumption thus accounts for 17.9% of TFC, versus 17.7% for industry. The non-residential sector is denominated in IEA terminology as 'Commercial and Public Services'. This sector encompasses office buildings, hotels & restaurants, education & research, hospital & healthcare, sports facilities and public administrations. In short, buildings that house the tertiary sector. Therefore it can't be identified at all with the industry (btw industrial buildings consumption are accounted for in the 'industry' sector). In total, residential and non-residential buildings account for 32% of TFC in the US, second only to transport (39.5%). Disclosure: I've worked as an analyst at the IEA for 4 years.
  - Lagged2Death 13y ago
    That's a great clarification, thank you!

by othello 13y ago

scurvy 13y ago

Most energy consumption in the US goes towards heating and cooling, not illumination. Making your house more energy efficient starts with your windows and doors, not your lightbulbs.

othello 13y ago
Obviously, that's right. I was just pointing out that in the aggregate, improvements to energy efficiency in the residential sector are not a "tiny, tiny drop" vis-a-vis industry as the GP was implying. And it's also true that residential lighting is not a big energy consumer, even though it still represents close to 10% of US electricity use (not of overall energy use, of course). http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/light2006.pdf http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication...
lutorm 13y ago
That depends -- the energy wasted by illumination needs to be cooled away (if you live in a climate where cooling is necessary, obviously), which not only uses energy but also increases the necessary size of the HVAC unit needed. This can be significant in places with a lot of lights so more applies to offices than residences. OTOH, if you live in a climate where heating is necessary, and even more if you heat with electric heat, there's obviously little gain to be had by switching to LEDs.
- hellgas00 13y ago
  It's a given that most bulbs are located on the ceiling, unless you have a fan to redistribute that heat to the ground you aren't feeling the warmth. Also, when lights are off you still need to heat the house. Unless you're using the bulbs during the day, your HVAC unit will need to be just as big.

Lagged2Death 13y ago

That's a difficult chart for an outsider to interpret. How are there electricity exports if there is no electricity production? How do they count "industry" and "residential?" In any case, I'll note that the "residential" line does indeed read 262 mtoe but the "production" line at the top is 1,686 mtoe, leaving the "residential" category consuming something like 15% of total production. Most novices and outsiders would probably be content to count non-residential energy use as "industrial," even if that doesn't match the IEA's more detailed classification. Especially energy-intensive commercial activities that I imagine must make up the "transport" category (like aviation, trucking, railroads, and shipping).

othello 13y ago
I agree that this table is a bit confusing ;) Actually, residential energy consumption is expressed in final energy terms. This is the actual consumption by end-users of energy carriers (e.g. electricity, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc...). The sum of all these end-use consumption is the Total Final Consumption (or TFC). This is to be distinguished from primary energy sources (crude oil, coal, natural gas, etc...), which are used to produce the energy carriers that end-users consume (e.g. in a power plant to produce electricity, or in a refinery to produce gasoline). The sum of all primary energy sources consumption is the Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES). Since residential energy consumption is reported in final terms, the correct denominator to calculate the share you were looking for is TFC. Residential energy consumption thus accounts for 17.9% of TFC, versus 17.7% for industry. The non-residential sector is denominated in IEA terminology as 'Commercial and Public Services'. This sector encompasses office buildings, hotels & restaurants, education & research, hospital & healthcare, sports facilities and public administrations. In short, buildings that house the tertiary sector. Therefore it can't be identified at all with the industry (btw industrial buildings consumption are accounted for in the 'industry' sector). In total, residential and non-residential buildings account for 32% of TFC in the US, second only to transport (39.5%). Disclosure: I've worked as an analyst at the IEA for 4 years.
- Lagged2Death 13y ago
  That's a great clarification, thank you!