U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis

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2024-11-23 20:30:16

Thirty percent of new home starts in 2012 were in apartment buildings with five or more units, the highest percentage since 1986 and up sharply from 18% in 2009 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 17% of households (19 million) lived in apartment buildings with five or more units in 2009, up from 13% (11 million) in 1980, but they only accounted for 9% of home energy use in both years. Over the same period, single-family homes maintained a steady share of total households, but their share of total home energy use went up. Apartments in smaller buildings have declined as a share of both households and energy use, and mobile homes remain a small segment of the residential sector.

Households in apartment buildings with five or more units use much less energy than the average for all households, and those in newer units use even less energy than those in older ones. As recent new construction joins the housing stock and older buildings fall out, energy use per household in large apartment buildings likely will continue to decline.

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