Heating and Cooling

In the United States, buildings use 72 percent of the nation's annual electricity consumption. The residential sector constitutes 21.4 percent of the total annual U.S. electricity consumption, and a substantial portion of residential energy consumption is used to heat and cool the built environment. The average U.S. household uses approximately 16 percent of its total energy consumption for air conditioning, 10.1 percent for space heating, and 9.1 percent for water heating. These figures vary throughout the different climate zones of the country based on seasonal thermal characteristics. There are three general types of climates within the United States: humid, arid, and temperate. Within various geographical regions, there are zones of extreme cold and extreme heat.

Residences within humid climates generally use air conditioners and dehumidifiers to ...