Carbon Footprint of the U.S. Population: Causes and Spatial-Temporal Pattern U.S. Residential Electricity Use Analysis Class Project Me/ENV 449, 2007 Nick McGowan Instructor: R. Husar

Introduction Purpose: To better describe U.S. residential energy use. Approach: Analyzed the residential electricity use to find the best ways to describe U.S. residential electricity use (the drivers). Major finding: Residential electricity use can be broken down into: air conditioning, space heating, water heating, and appliances. Water heating and appliances are driven by the number of houses and air conditioning and space heating are driven by the size of the houses (sq. ft.).

Residential Electricity Breakdown No significant change in electricity allotment in the last two decades.

Residential Energy Diagram People ° Cooled Houses Refrigerator Sq. Feet Emission FactorsConvenience Occupancy Size External Factors ° Heated Efficiency Lighting Water Heating Other Washer/Dryer BTU’s Carbon

Modifications Major Target: Efficiency –Refrigerators (65% reduction with modernization) –Lights (35% reduction with CFL replacing heavily used lights) –Washer/Dryer –Water Heating –Air Conditioning Minor Target: Convenience –Make people think about their actions

What Next? Find or estimate savings for air conditioning and water heating Carbon Estimations (Matt)