7-A-i

APPENDIX 7-A. RECS 2005 VARIABLES AND VALUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

7-A.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................7-A-1

7-A.2 SAMPLE DETERMINATION..............................................................................7-A-1

7-A.3 RECS 2005 DATABASE VARIABLE RESPONSE CODES..............................7-A-2

LIST OF TABLES

Table 7-A.2.1 Selection of RECS 2005 Records..............................................................7-A-1

Table 7-A.2.2 RECS 2005 Variables................................................................................7-A-1

Table 7-A.3.1 RECS 2005 Variable Response Codes ......................................................7-A-2
7-A-1

APPENDIX 7-A. RECS 2005 VARIABLES AND VALUES

7-A.1 INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created a database containing a subset of the 

records and variables from DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s RECS 2005.1

DOE used this RECS subset in the life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis of microwave and countertop 

combination ovens and over the range combination ovens. This appendix explains the variable 

name abbreviations and provides definitions of the variable values. For the entire RECS 2005 

dataset, refer to http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html.

7-A.2 SAMPLE DETERMINATION

The subset of RECS households used for microwaves and countertop combination ovens 

and over the range combination ovens met all of the following criteria: 

• The household had a microwave.

The RECS 2005 variables used to match the selection criteria are listed in Table 7-A.2.1.

Table 7-A.2.1 Selection of RECS 2005 Records

Product Class Selection Criterion # of Records # of US Households 

Represented (million)

All MICRO = 1 3835 97.7

Table 7-A.2.2 RECS 2005 Variables

Variable Description

Location Variables

DIVISION Census division

DIVISION + LRG STATE* Combined large state (LRGSTATE) and census division (DIVISION)

Household Characteristics Variables

AMTMICRO Amount of food cooked in the microwave

DOEID DOE 4-digit identification number

NUMMEAL Hot meal preparation frequency

NWEIGHT Final weight

YEARMADE Residence build year

* Not part of RECS 2005 variables.
7-A-2

7-A.3 RECS 2005 DATABASE VARIABLE RESPONSE CODES

Table 7-A.3.1 provides the response codes for all RECS 2005 variables used in the 

household sample.

Table 7-A.3.1 RECS 2005 Variable Response Codes

Variable Definition

AMTMICRO Amount of food cooked in the microwave

1 = Most or all

2 = About half

3 = Some or very little

4 = Used only for snacks, defrosting, or reheating food

DIVISION Census division

1 = New England

2 = Middle Atlantic

3 = East North Central

4 = West North Central

5 = South Atlantic

6 = East South Central

7 = West South Central

8 = Mountain

9 = Pacific

DIVISION + LRG STATE* Combined large state (LRGSTATE) and census division (DIVISION)

1 = New England

2 = Middle Atlantic (not including New York)

3 = East North Central

4 = West North Central

5 = South Atlantic (not including Florida)

6 = East South Central

7 = West South Central (not including Texas)

8 = Mountain

9 = Pacific (not including California)

10 = New York

11 = California

13 = Texas

14 = Florida

DOEID DOE 4-digit identification number

NHSLDMEM Number that live in household 

NUMMEAL Hot meal preparation frequency

1 = Three or more times a day

2 = Two times a day

3 = Once a day

4 = A few times a week

5 = About once a week

6 = Less than once a week

0 = Doesn’t cook/never cooks

NWEIGHT Final weight

* Not part of RECS 2005 variables.
7-A-3

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy 

Consumption Survey: 2005 Public Use Data Files, 2005.

<http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html>