Edit ModuleShow Tags Edit ModuleShow Tags

Population Shifts across U.S. Regions Affect Overall Heating And Cooling Needs


Population shifts across U.S. regions affect overall heating and cooling needs

Graph of share of US population heating degree day range, as explained in article text

Note: Heating degree day values for each state represent annual average over the period 1971-2000.
Source: EIA, based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Census Bureau.

Since the nation's founding, the population of the United States has migrated westward. The advent of air conditioning nearly a century ago contributed to population shifts to southern tier states as well, especially in the second half of the 20th century. This regional shifting of the population affected the need for heating and cooling. A common measure used for analyzing the relationship between temperatures and energy consumption is the degree day.

In 1960, 31.2% of the U.S. population lived in the warmest states, where annual heating degree days (HDD) averaged less than 4,000, as indicated by the red and yellow lines in the figure. By 2010, this share of the population rose to 43.4%. In contrast, the share of the population living in cooler states, with HDD ranging from 4,000 to 6,999, declined from 59.7% of the population in 1960 to 48.3% in 2010, as indicated by the two green lines in the figure. The share of the U.S. population living in the coldest regions, where HDD average more than 7,000, has also declined slightly from 9.1% in 1960 to 8.2% in 2010, as shown by the two blue lines in the figure.





Graph of US heating degree days, as explained in article text. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Census Bureau.

Edit Module

Add your comment: