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The American Energy Consumer
Table 5-3.Amount of Natural Gas and
Electricity Used for Space Heating, and Fuel Oil Cost, by Income,
1972-1973
| Fuel used for space
heating |
Poor |
Lower middle |
Upper middle |
Well off |
Number of households
(millions) |
|
Average Btu's per
household (millions) |
|
| Natural gas |
132 |
142 |
154 |
184 |
41.3 |
| Electricity |
144 |
210 |
275 |
291 |
6.0 |
|
Btu index (poor =
100) |
|
| Natural gas |
100 |
108 |
117 |
139 |
41.3 |
| Electricity |
100 |
146 |
191 |
202 |
6.0 |
|
Percent of households |
|
| Yearly cost of fuel
oil |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
10.0 |
| Under $200 |
49 |
40 |
40 |
32 |
4.1 |
| $200 and over |
51 |
60 |
60 |
68 |
5.9 |
| Source: Washington
Center for Metropolitan Studies' Lifestyles and Energy
Surveys. |
spend less than $200 for fuel oil, while 40 percent of the
middle income groups and only one-third of the well off spend so
little.
One of
three fuels—natural gas, electricity, or fuel oil—is
the heating fuel for 85 percent of all poor households and about 95
percent of all other households. The other fuels used are propane,
coal, wood, and in some cases, nothing at all (Table 5-4).
Influences on Energy Use in
Heating
A variety
of factors affect the amount of energy used for space heating,
including climate, the structure of the house, and the family's
style of living. Whatever the characteristic examined, the poor and
lower middle income groups use less energy than others. The
comparisons are made using household consumption of natural gas
because natural gas is the most common space heating fuel, and
therefore involves enough households to permit comparisons by both
housing characteristics and income at the same
time.