The Lifestyles and Energy Surveys have established the basic facts of the energy gap. The poor use less fuel to heat their homes, less for lighting and appliances, and when they have cars, less gasoline. The poor can afford little energy for extras. Lower middle income families are also strapped. More affluent families are able to buy some conveniences beyond necessities and, occasionally, a luxury item. Rich Americans simply buy the fuel using conveniences they want and have a great deal of money left over.

Energy in the Home

Poor and lower middle income households use less fuel for the essentials of heating, lighting, and cooking because they are forced to be thrifty, and because their homes are modest. They are more likely to live in apartments or homes with only a few rooms and a few windows.

Half the poor and one-third of the lower middle households are dependent upon a landlord for repairs and any major energy conserving improvements. Some poor households do without what is common in others. About 15 percent of the poor do not have central heating; almost 10 percent share a bathroom with another family or have no indoor toilet at all; 8 percent have no hot running water.

Almost half of all poor households have no thermostat or valve to control room temperature; one-fifth of the lower middle group were in this position. Virtually all poor households have a refrigerator, a stove, and a television. The refrigerator and stove are unquestionably necessities, by American standards; the television provides an economical form of entertainment. With any particular appliance, the poor are less likely to have the more energy intensive model. For example, the poor are less likely than other households to have a color TV or frost-free refrigerator. Aside from the refrigerator, stove and TV, poor households are much less likely than others to have and enjoy the convenience of major appliances.

Energy on the Road

The energy gap is greatest in gasoline use. The well off are two-tenths of all households, own three-tenths of all cars, and use over three-tenths of all gasoline. The poor, also about two-tenths of all households, own slightly less than one-tenth of all cars, and use about 5 percent of the gasoline. The lower middle are closer to the poor, using less gasoline than their proportion in the population, while the upper middle are more like the well off.