The unexpected decline in home energy use – Houston Chronicle
Energy Disrupter
May 17, 2021Updated: May 17, 2021 9:53 a.m.
The primary bathroom originally was dark and felt closed in. Big windows bring in natural light and glass shower walls and gray-white tile are on-trend finishes.
FrenchBlue Photography
WASHINGTON – If there every was a year to rack up big energy bills at home, it was 2020.
With many of the nation’s schools and offices closed – not to mention restaurants, movie theaters, etc. – to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19, Americans were stuck at home more than most would care to remember.
That might have been expected to have resulted in increased home energy use, but new data from the U.S. Department of Energy finds that residential energy use actually declined by 4 percent year over year in 2020.
The reason, federal scientists say, is that 2019 was a particularly warm year, and while there was increased electricity use it was offset by a general decline in the use of home heating systems.
“During the first three months of 2020, the weather was relatively warmer than average in the United States and had 15 percnt fewer heating degree days (HDDs) on average,” the report read.
In fact, residential demand for natural gas, heating oil and wood all declined between 15 percent and 17 percent during the first three months of 2020.
Original Source: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/The-unexpected-decline-in-home-energy-use-16182451.php
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