The preceding chapters discuss national concern about energy resources and conservation in the context of household requirements. They show how much energy households of different kinds use, how they use it, and to what extent they can conserve it; and they outline some of the steps that might be considered to improve the efficiency of household energy use without reducing levels of living.

Levels of living vary widely from poor to rich as does the use of energy and the consequences of energy use in the form of pollution. Policies must take into account that poor and lower middle income groups use least energy, are able to conserve it least, and suffer the consequences of its production most. The affluent use most energy, have and can buy energy conserving features, and are the most likely to be protected from air pollution originating from such sources as electricity generation and the use of gasoline.

The House and Car

The study conclusions are unequivocal about contributions and obstacles to energy conservation both in homes and transportation. First, major energy use and savings are inherent in the basic features of the structure in which households live, and in their modes of transportation. In the home, energy requirements and savings stem chiefly from how well the structure is protected from the weather, how it is kept at comfort levels (winter and summer), and how much energy is used to heat water for cooking and washing.

A poorly constructed house that is not fitted with storm windows and insulation will use more energy per square foot than a tightly built house, all other things being equal. The same home and household that heats with electricity or has an electric hot water heater will use twice as much energy for