Glossary

Aggregate Ratio: See Mean and Ratio Estimate.

AMPD: Average miles driven per day. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled: See Vehicle Miles Traveled.

Automobile: Includes standard passenger car, 2-seater car and station wagons; excludes passenger vans, cargo vans,

motor homes, pickup trucks, and jeeps or similar vehicles. See Vehicle.

Average Household Energy Expenditures: A ratio estimate defined as the total household energy expenditures

for all RTECS households divided by the total number of households. See Ratio Estimate, and Combined

Household Energy Expenditures.

Average Number of Vehicles per Household: The average number of vehicles used by a household for personal

transportation during 1991. For this report, the average number of vehicles per household is computed as the ratio

of the total number of vehicles to the total number of households within any subgroup or "table cell." The total

number of vehicles used by a household is based on the number of days each vehicle is used. For example, a total

of one vehicle may represent two vehicles, each used for half of the year. See Vehicle.

Average Vehicle Fuel Consumption: A ratio estimate defined as total gallons of fuel consumed by all vehicles,

divided by: (1) the total number of vehicles (for average fuel consumption per vehicle) or (2) the total number of

households (for average fuel consumption per household). See Ratio Estimate.

Average Vehicle Miles Traveled: A ratio estimate defined as total miles traveled by all vehicles, divided by: (1)

the total number of vehicles (for average miles traveled per vehicle) or (2) the total number of households (for

average miles traveled per household). See Ratio Estimate and Vehicle Miles Traveled.

BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics within the U.S. Department of Labor. See Price.

British thermal unit (Btu): The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree

Fahrenheit (F) at or near 39.1 degrees F and 1 atmosphere of pressure. One Btu is about equal to the heat given

off by a blue-tip match. See Conversion Factor.

Btu: See British thermal unit.

Btu Conversion Factor: See Conversion Factor.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Pump Price Series: See Price.

Carburetor: A fuel delivery device for producing a proper mixture of gasoline vapor and air, and delivering it to

the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. Gasoline is gravity fed from a reservoir bowl into a throttle

bore, where it is allowed to evaporate into the stream of air being inducted by the engine. The fuel efficiency of

carburetors is more temperature dependent than fuel injection systems. See Fuel Injection and Diesel Fuel System.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 211
Census Division: A geographic area consisting of several States defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce,

Bureau of the Census. See the map in Appendix F, "U.S. Census Regions and Divisions." The States are grouped

into nine divisions and four regions:

Region Division States

Northeast New England Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Rhode

Island, and Vermont

Middle Atlantic New Jersey, New York,

and Pennsylvania

Midwest East North Central Illinois, Indiana,

Michigan, Ohio, and

Wisconsin

West North Central Iowa, Kansas,

Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North

Dakota, and South

Dakota

South South Atlantic Delaware, the District

of Columbia, Florida,

Georgia, Maryland,

North Carolina, South

Carolina, Virginia,

and West Virginia

East South Central Alabama, Kentucky,

Mississippi,

and Tennessee

West South Central Arkansas, Louisiana,

Oklahoma, and Texas

West Mountain Arizona, Colorado,

Idaho, Montana,

Nevada, New Mexico,

Utah, and Wyoming

Pacific Alaska, California,

Hawaii, Oregon,

and Washington

Census Region: See Census Division and the map in Appendix F, "U.S. Census Regions and Divisions."

212 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
Central City: Usually one or more legally incorporated cities within the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that

is significantly large by itself or large relative to the largest city in the MSA. Additional criteria for being classified

as "Central City" include having at least 75 jobs for each 100 employed residents and having at least 40 percent of

the resident workers employed within the city limits. Every MSA has at least one central city, usually the largest

city. Central cities are commonly regarded as relatively large communities with a denser population and a higher

concentration of economic activities than the outlying or suburban areas of the MSA. "Outside Central City" are

those parts of the MSA not designated as central city. See Metropolitan.

Certification Files: See Environmental Protection Agency Certification Files.

Change in Vehicle Stock: See Vehicle Acquisition and Vehicle Disposition.

CID: Cubic Inch Displacement. See Engine Size.

Cold-Deck Imputation: A statistical procedure that replaces a missing value of an item with a constant value from

an external source such as a value from a previous survey. See Imputation and Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

Combined Household Energy Expenditures: The total amount of funds spent for energy consumed in, or delivered

to, a housing unit during a given period of time; and for fuel used to operate the motor vehicles that are owned or

used on a regular basis by the household. For this report, expenditures for energy consumed in the housing unit are

presented on an annual basis for calendar year 1990 as collected during the 1990 Residential Energy Consumption

Survey. All vehicle expenditure statistics calculated for the RTECS are on an annual basis for calendar year 1991.

The total dollar amount for energy consumed in a housing unit includes State and local taxes but excludes

merchandise repairs or special service charges. Electricity, and natural gas expenditures are for the amount of those

energy sources consumed. Fuel oil, kerosene and LPG expenditures are for the amount of fuel purchased, which

may differ from the amount of fuel consumed.

The total dollar amount of fuel spent for vehicles is the product of fuel consumption and price. In the 1991 RTECS,

price data were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics price data and the Lundberg Survey Inc. price series.

See Vehicle Fuel Expenditures, Average Household Energy Expenditures and Price.

Conversion Factor: A number that translates units of one system into corresponding values of another system.

Conversion factors are used to translate physical units of measures for various fuels into Btu equivalents. Conversion

factors used in this report are:

Motor Gasoline ....................... .125 million Btu per gallon

Diesel Fuel ............................... .139 million Btu per gallon

Propane ..................................... .091 million Btu per gallon

Gasohol ..................................... .121 million Btu per gallon

Gasohol = 90 percent motor gasoline and 10 percent ethanol

1 barrel = 42 gallons

Diesel Fuel: A fuel composed of distillates obtained in petroleum refining operation or blends of such distillates

with residual oil used in motor vehicles. The boiling point and specific gravity are higher for diesel fuels than for

gasoline. See Diesel Fuel System.

Diesel Fuel System: Diesel engines are internal combustion engines that burn diesel oil rather than gasoline.

Injectors are used to spray droplets of diesel oil into the combustion chambers, at or near the top of the compression

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 213
stroke. Ignition follows due to the very high temperature of the compressed in-take air, or to the use of "glow

plugs," which retain heat from previous ignitions (spark plugs are not used). Diesel engines are generally more fuel

efficient than gasoline engines, but must be stronger and heavier due to high compression ratios. See Diesel Fuel,

Carburetor, and Fuel Injection.

Drivers: Household members who drove a vehicle on a regular basis at the time of the 1990 RECS personal

interviews.

Electricity: See Main Heating Fuel.

214 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
Energy Used in the Home: For electricity or natural gas, the quantity is the amount used by the household during

the 365- or 366-day period. For fuel oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the quantity consists of fuel

purchased, not fuel consumed. If the level of fuel in the storage tank was the same at the beginning and end of the

annual period, then the quantity consumed would be the same as the quantity purchased. Information on the level

of fuel in the storage tank was not included in the data collection. The time period for household consumption for

energy used in the home is January 1990 through December 1990 and was collected during the 1990 Residential

Energy Consumption Survey.

Engine Size: The total volume within all cylinders of an engine, when pistons are at their lowest positions. The

engine is usually measured in "liters" or "cubic inches of displacement (CID)." Generally, larger engines result in

greater engine power, but less fuel efficiency. There are 61.024 cubic inches in a liter. See Number of Cylinders.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Certification Files: Computer files produced by EPA for analysis

purposes. For each vehicle make, model and year, the files contain the EPA test MPG’s (city, highway and 55/45

composite). These MPG’s are associated with various combinations of engine and drive-train technologies (e.g.,

number of cylinders, engine size, gasoline or diesel fuel, and automatic or manual transmission). These files also

contain information similar to that in the DOE/EPA Gas Mileage Guide, although the MPG’s in that publication are

adjusted for shortfall. See Miles per Gallon, Shortfall and Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

EPA Certification Files: See Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Certification Files.

EPA Composite MPG: The harmonic mean of the EPA city and highway MPG, weighted under the assumption

of 55 percent city driving and 45 percent highway driving. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

Family Income: The total combined annual income in 1990 of all members of the family from all sources before

taxes and deductions as collected in the 1990 RECS. It includes wages, salaries, tips, commissions, income from

Social Security, pensions, interest, dividends, rent, public assistance, and unemployment insurance. This includes

the total income for all family members who lived in the household in 1990. Income of nonfamily members of the

household is not included. "Family" includes the following types of relationships: mother, father, sister, brother,

son, daughter, father-in-law, uncle, aunt, niece, grandchild, foster child, and similar relationships.

Four-Wheel Drive: See Type of Drive.

Front-Wheel Drive: See Type of Drive.

Fuel Consumption: See Vehicle Fuel Consumption.

Fuel Efficiency: See Miles per Gallon.

Fuel Expenditures: See Vehicle Fuel Expenditures.

Fuel Injection: A fuel delivery system whereby gasoline is pumped to one or more fuel injectors under high

pressure. The fuel injectors are valves that, at the appropriate times, open to allow fuel to be sprayed or atomized

into a throttle bore or into the intake manifold ports. The fuel injectors are usually solenoid operated valves under

the control of the vehicle’s on-board computer (thus the term "electronic fuel injection"). The fuel efficiency of fuel

injection systems is less temperature dependent than carburetor systems. Diesel engines always use injectors. See

Carburetor, and Diesel Fuel Systems.

Fuel Oil: See Main Heating Fuel.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 215
Fuel Type: See Type of Vehicle Fuel Purchased.

Full Service: See Type of Primary Service.

GPMR (Gallons per Mile Ratio): See MPG Shortfall and Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

Gasohol: A fuel used in motor vehicles that is a blend of finished motor gasoline (leaded or unleaded) and alcohol

(generally ethanol, but sometimes methanol), limited to 10 percent alcohol by volume. See Gasoline.

Gasoline: A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons, with or without small quantities of additives,

obtained by blending appropriate refinery streams to form a fuel suitable for use in spark ignition engines. Motor

gasoline includes both leaded or unleaded grades of finished motor gasoline, blending components, and gasohol.

High-Mileage Households: Households with estimated aggregate annual vehicle mileage that exceeds 12,500 miles,

as obtained in the 1990 RECS.

Hispanic Descent: This, as the question on origin, was self-determined by the respondent and is collected in the

1990 RECS. The respondent was asked, "Is the householder of Spanish or Hispanic descent?" and the respondent’s

answer was recorded. See Origin.

Hot-Deck Imputation: A statistical procedure for deriving a probable response to a questionnaire item concerning

a household or vehicle, where no response was given during the survey. To perform the procedure, the households

or vehicles are sorted by variables related to the missing item. Thus, a series of "sort categories" are formed, which

are internally homogeneous with respect to the sort variables. Within each category, households or vehicles for which

the questionnaire item is not missing are randomly selected to serve as "donors" to supply values for the missing item

of "recipient" households or vehicles. See Imputation and Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

Household: A family, an individual, or a group of up to nine unrelated persons occupying the same housing unit

at the time of the 1990 RECS interview. "Occupy" means the housing unit was the person’s usual or permanent

place of residence at the time of the first field contact. The household includes babies, lodgers, boarders, employed

persons who live in the housing unit, and persons who usually live in the household but are away traveling or in a

hospital. The household does not include persons who are normally members of the household but who were away

from home as college students or members of the armed forces at the time of the contact. The household does not

include persons temporarily visiting with the household if they have a place of residence elsewhere, persons who

take their meals with the household but usually lodge or sleep elsewhere, domestic employees or other persons

employed by the household who do not sleep in the same housing unit, or persons who are former members of the

household, but have since become inmates of correction or penal institutions, mental institutions, homes for the aged

or needy, homes or hospitals for the chronically ill or handicapped, nursing homes, convents or monasteries, or other

places in which residents may remain for long periods of time. By definition, the number of households is the same

as the number of occupied housing units. The number or households for a subgroup or table cell is estimated by

summing the survey weights over all sample households in that subgroup.

Householder: The person (or one of the people) in whose name the home is owned or rented. If there is no lease

or similar agreement, or if the person who owns the home or pays the rent does not live in the housing unit, the

householder is the person responsible for paying the household bills, or whoever is generally in charge.

Household Composition: The configuration of the household members including number of children, number of

household members, and age of household members. For this report, households were divided into households with

children and households without children. Within the households with children, a further division was made

216 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
depending on the age of the oldest child. Within households without children, a further division was made depending

on the number of adults and then within that category, the age of the households. See Household, Householder,

and Housing Unit.

Household Energy Expenditures: The total amount of funds spent for energy consumed in, or delivered to, a

housing unit during a given period of time. See Combined Household Energy Expenditures.

Household Size: Number of individuals occupying a housing unit. See Household, and Housing Unit.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 217
Housing Unit: A structure or part of a structure where a household lives. It has direct access from the outside of

the building, either directly or through a common hall. Housing units do not include group quarters such as prisons

or nursing homes where 10 or more unrelated persons live. Hotel and motel rooms are considered housing units if

occupied as the usual or permanent place of residence.

Imputation: A group of statistical techniques for estimating probable responses to questionnaire items concerning

households or vehicles, where no responses or poor quality responses were given during the survey. The three most

common techniques employed in this survey were "hot-deck," "regression," and "predictive mean matching." See

Hot-Deck Imputation, Cold-Deck Imputation, Predictive Mean Matching, Regression Imputation, and

Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

Intermediate Grade Gasoline: An increasingly common grade of unleaded gasoline with an octane rating

intermediate between "regular" and "premium." Octane boosters are added to gasolines to control engine pre-ignition

or "knocking" by slowing combustion rates. See Regular Grade Gasoline and Premium Grade Gasoline.

In-Use MPG: An MPG that was adjusted for seasonality and annual miles traveled. See Appendix B, "Estimation

Methodologies."

Jeep-like Vehicle: These vehicles are now referred to as sport-utility. See Sport-Utility Vehicle.

Kerosene: See Main Heating Fuel.

Large Van: See Van.

Leaded Gasoline: A fuel that contains more than 0.05 gram of lead per gallon or more than 0.005 gram of

phosphorus per gallon. See Gasoline and Unleaded Gasoline.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): See Main Heating Fuel.

Liters: See Engine Size.

Lundberg Survey Inc. Price Series: See Price.

Main Heating Fuel: The primary fuel delivered to a residential site. It may be converted to some other form of

energy at the site. The following are defined as primary fuels for this report:

Electricity: Metered electric power supplied by a central utility company to a residence via underground

or above-ground power lines. It does not refer to electricity generated onsite for the exclusive use of a

residence. When a residence has its own generating capability, the fuel used for the generator will be

specified. The Btu equivalent for electricity is the energy value of electricity as received by the household

(3,412 Btu per kilowatthour). For this report, energy losses that occur in generating and transmitting

electricity are not included in the conversion of electricity into a Btu equivalent. If these losses were to be

included, the conversion rate would generally be about 10,353 Btu per kilowatthour.

Fuel Oil: No. 1, No. 2, or No. 4 grade fuel oil or residual oil that is burned for space- or water-heating

purposes. No. 1 distillate fuel oil is a form of heating oil used mostly as a blending stock to insure that

heavier grades of fuel flow under severe cold weather conditions. No. 2 distillate refers to both No. 2

heating oil and No. 2 diesel fuel. Although these products are not identical, they are essentially

interchangeable for most applications. No. 2 fuel oil is the most common form of heating oil. No. 4

218 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
distillate is a blend of No. 2 and No. 5 or No. 6 residual fuel oil, used in large stationary diesel engines

and boilers equipped with fuel preheating equipment. Residual fuel oil refers to the heavier oils that remain

after the distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are boiled off in refinery operations.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 219
Kerosene: The generic name for a distilled product of oil or coal, having properties similar to those of No.

1 fuel oil. Kerosene is used for cooking stoves, for space heating or water heating, or for lighting

equipment that uses wicks. It is sometimes sold under the names "range oil," "stove oil," or "coal oil."

LPG or Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Any fuel gas supplied to a residence in liquid form, such as propane or

butane. It is usually delivered by tank truck and stored near the residence in a tank or cylinder until used.

Propane was the most common liquefied petroleum gas supplied to RECS households. Household use of

LPG solely for outdoor gas grills is not considered sufficient use to mark the household as a user of LPG.

Natural Gas: Utility gas supplied by underground pipeline to individual housing units by a central utility

company. It does not refer to privately owned gas wells operated by the household, nor to LPG.

Mean: The simple arithmetic average for a population; that is, the sum of all the values in a population divided by

the size of the population. For this report, population means are estimated by computing the weighted sum of the

sample values, then dividing by the sum of the sample weights. The mean is, thus, an aggregate ratio whose

denominator is the total number of households or vehicles. See Ratio Estimate.

Measured Heated Area of Residence: The floor area of the housing unit that is enclosed from the weather and

heated as collected in the 1990 RECS. Basements are included whether or not they contain finished space. Garages

are included if they have a wall in common with the house. Attics that have finished space and attics that have some

heated space are included. Crawl spaces are not included even if they are enclosed from the weather. Sheds and

other buildings that are not attached to the house are not included. "Measured" area means that the measurement

of the dimensions of the home did not rely on the respondent’s reports but was an actual measurement by the

interviewer using a metallic, retractable, 50-foot tape measure. "Heated area" is that portion of the measured area

that is heated during most of the season. Rooms that are shut off during the heating season to save on fuel are not

counted. Attached garages that are unheated and unheated areas in the attics and basements are also not counted.

Metropolitan: A group of households located within Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) as defined by the U.S.

Office of Management and Budget. Except in New England, an MSA is (1) a county or group of contiguous

counties that contain at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more, or (2) an urbanized area of at least 50,000

inhabitants and a total MSA population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). The contiguous counties are

included in an MSA if, according to certain criteria, they are essentially metropolitan in character and are socially

and economically integrated with the central city. In New England, MSA’s consist of towns and cities, rather than

counties. See Nonmetropolitan and Central City.

Metropolitan Status: Refers to the geographic location of the households in relationship to MSA’s. See

Metropolitan, Nonmetropolitan, and Central City.

Miles per Gallon (MPG): A measure of vehicle fuel efficiency. Miles per gallon or MPG as presented in this

report represents "Fleet Miles per Gallon." For each subgroup or "table cell," MPG is computed as the ratio of the

total number of miles traveled by all vehicles in the subgroup to the total number of gallons consumed. For the 1991

RTECS, MPG’s were assigned to each vehicle using the EPA certification files and adjusted for on-road driving.

See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies," for a discussion of how MPG’s were assigned to each vehicle.

Mini-Service Pumps: See Type of Primary Service.

Minivan: New type of small van that first appeared with that designation in 1984. Any of the smaller vans built

on an automobile-type frame. Earlier models such as the Volkswagen van are now included in this category.

220 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
Model Year: The year in which the particular style or design of vehicle was introduced or manufactured.

Motor Fuel Consumption: See Vehicle Fuel Consumption.

Motor Fuel Expenditures: See Vehicle Fuel Expenditures.

MPG: See Miles per Gallon.

MPG Shortfall: The difference between actual on-road MPG and EPA laboratory test MPG. MPG shortfall is

expressed as gallons per mile ratio (GPMR). See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodology."

MSA: See Metropolitan.

Multistage Area Probability Sample: A sample design executed in stages with geographic "clusters" of sampling

units selected at each stage. This procedure reduces survey expense while maintaining national coverage. See

Appendix A, "How the Survey Was Conducted."

Natural Gas: See Main Heating Fuel.

Nonmetropolitan: Households not located within MSA’s as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

See Metropolitan.

Number of Cylinders: In a reciprocating engine, a cylinder is the chamber in which combustion of fuel occurs and

the piston moves, ultimately delivering power to the wheels. Common engine configurations include 4, 6, and 8

cylinders. Generally, the more cylinders a vehicle has, the greater the amount of engine power it has. However,

more cylinders often result in less fuel efficiency. See Engine Size.

Number of Households: The total number of households in the United States that are represented by the sample

households. In this report, most statistics are shown for the number of households with vehicles, which is a subset

of the total number of households.

Number of Vehicles: See Vehicle and Vehicle Stock.

Occupied Housing Unit: A unit someone was living in as his or her usual or permanent place of residence when

the first field contact was made. See Housing Unit.

On-road MPG: A composite MPG that was adjusted to account for the difference between the test value and the

fuel efficiency actually obtained on the road. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodology."

Origin: The primary ethnic background of the person considered to be the householder as self-determined by the

respondent. Origin of householder was collected in the 1990 RECS. Each respondent was asked, "Which of the

groups on this exhibit best describes the householder?" The groups included: white, black or Negro, American

Indian, Alaskan native, Asian, and Pacific Islander. The word "race" was not used in either the questionnaire or the

instructions. See Hispanic Descent.

Outside Central City: See Central City.

Passenger Car: See Vehicle and Automobile.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 221
Pickup Truck: Includes compact and full-size pickup trucks. See Vehicle.

Poverty: Low-income classifications to which certain households are assigned based on the household’s annual

income reported in the 1990 RECS. "Below 100 percent of poverty" encompasses a group of households with

incomes below the poverty level as defined by the Bureau of the Census. "Below 125 percent of poverty" includes

a group of households with incomes below 125 percent of the poverty level. These groups of the poor and near-poor

represent alternative levels for defining poverty. The definitions of "poor" are based on the number of family

members in the household and the income of the entire family.

Premium Grade Gasoline: A grade of unleaded gasoline with a high octane rating, (approximately 92) designed

to minimize preignition or engine "knocking" by slowing combustion rates. See Regular Grade Gasoline and

Intermediate Grade Gasoline.

Predictive Mean Matching: A model-based procedure used to impute for item nonresponse. This method uses

logistic models to compute predicted means that are used to statistically match each nonrespondent to a respondent

with the closest predicted mean. The respondent’s value is directly imputed to the nonrespondent. See Imputation

and Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

Price: The dollar amount per gallon of fuel purchased. For the 1991 RTECS, fuel prices were not collected directly

from the respondent. Instead fuel prices were estimated from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Retail Pump Price Survey

and from the Lundberg Survey Inc. Prices. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies" and Appendix C, "Quality

of the Data."

Primary Sampling Unit (PSU): A sampling unit selected at the first stage in multistage area probability sampling.

A PSU typically consists of one to several contiguous counties--for example, a metropolitan area with surrounding

suburban counties. The approximately 3,100 counties and independent cities of the contiguous United States were

grouped into about 1,800 PSU’s by a procedure similar to the one used by the Census Bureau for its Current

Population Survey. PSU’s can be composed of one or more MSA’s or can be composed of rural counties. See

Metropolitan and Appendix A, "How the Survey Was Conducted."

PSU: See Primary Sampling Unit.

Quadrillion: The number 1,000,000,000,000,000 or 1015.

Ratio Estimate: The ratio of two population aggregates (totals). For example, "average miles traveled per vehicle

is the ratio of total miles driven by all vehicles, over the total number of vehicles, within any subgroup or "table

cell." In this report, there are two types of ratio estimates: those computed using aggregates for vehicles and those

computed using aggregates for households. See Mean.

Rear-Wheel Drive: See Type of Drive.

RECS: See Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).

Regression Imputation: A statistical technique for predicting the value of a numerical variable that is missing.

The technique involves developing a regression equation that predicts the value of the missing variable based upon

variables that are not missing or have already been imputed. See Imputation and Appendix C, "Quality of the

Data."

Regular Grade Gasoline: A grade of unleaded gasoline with a lower octane rating (approximately 87) than other

222 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
grades. Octane boosters are added to gasoline to control engine preignition or "knocking" by slowing combustion

rates. See Intermediate Grade Gasoline and Premium Grade Gasoline.

Relative Standard Error: See RSE (Relative Standard Error).

Residential: Occupied housing units, including mobile homes, single-family housing units (attached and detached),

and apartments. The definition of "occupied housing units" is the same as that used by the U.S. Bureau of the

Census. See Household and Housing Unit.

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS): A national multistage probability sample survey conducted by

the Energy End Use Division of the Energy Information Administration. The RECS provides baseline information

on how households in the United States use energy. The RTECS sample is a subset of the RECS. Household

demographic characteristics reported in the RTECS publication are collected during the RECS personal interview.

See Appendix A, "How the Survey Was Conducted."

RSE (Relative Standard Error): A measure of the reliability or precision of a survey statistic. Variability occurs

in survey statistics because the different samples that could be drawn would each produce different values for the

survey statistics. The RSE is a measure of precision on a percentage scale. The RSE is defined as the standard error

of a survey estimate, divided by the survey estimate and multiplied by 100. (Standard error is the square root of

the variance.) For example, an RSE of 50 percent means that the standard error is half as large as the survey

estimate. See Appendix C, "Quality of the Data," for a discussion of sampling errors.

RSE Column Factor: An adjustment factor that appears above each column of the tables and is used to compute

RSE’s. For a survey estimate in a particular row and column of a table (that is, a particular "cell"), the approximate

RSE is obtained by multiplying the RSE row factor by the RSE column factor for that cell. See RSE, RSE Row

Factor, and Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

RSE Row Factor: A factor that appears to the right of each row of the tables, and is used to compute RSE’s. For

a survey estimate in a particular row and column of a table (that is, a particular "cell"), the approximate RSE is

obtained by multiplying the RSE row factor by the RSE column factor for that particular cell. The row factor is equal

to the geometric mean of the RSE’s in a particular row of the tables. See RSE, RSE Column Factor and Appendix

C, "Quality of the Data."

Sampling: The procedure used to select housing units for interview from the population of residential housing units

in the United States. See Multistage Area Probability Sample and Appendix A, "How the Survey Was

Conducted."

Self-Service or Mini-Service: See Type of Primary Service.

Shortfall: See MPG Shortfall and Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

Sport-Utility Vehicle: Includes light trucks that are similar to jeeps. Other common terms for these vehicles are

sport-utility, special purpose, utility or off-the-road vehicles. They may have a four- or two-wheel drive. See

Vehicle.

Transmission Type: The householder was asked if each vehicle had an automatic or manual shift transmission.

The transmission is the part of a vehicle that transmits motive force from the engine to the wheels, usually by means

of gears for different speeds using either a hydraulic "torque-converter" (automatic) or clutch assembly (manual).

On front wheel drive cars, the transmission is often called a "transaxle." Fuel efficiency is usually higher with

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 223
manual, rather than automatic transmissions, although modern, computer-controlled automatic transmissions can be

efficient.

Transportation Energy Expenditures: See Vehicle Fuel Expenditures and Combined Household Energy

Expenditures.

Type of Drive: Refers to which wheels the engine power is delivered to, the so-called "drive wheels." Rear-wheel

drive, has drive wheels on the rear of the vehicle. Front-wheel drive, a newer technology, has drive wheels on the

front of the vehicle. Four-wheel drive uses all four wheels as drive wheels, and is found mostly on Jeep-like vehicles

and trucks, though it is becoming increasingly more common on station wagons and vans.

Type of Fuel System: See Carburetor, Fuel Injection and Diesel Fuel Systems.

Type of Vehicle Fuel Purchased: The predominant type of fuel purchased during 1991. Data categories are leaded

and unleaded gasoline, diesel motor fuel and "other" which includes propane and gasohol. See Gasoline, Gasohol,

Unleaded Gasoline, Leaded Gasoline, Regular Grade Gasoline, Intermediate Grade Gasoline, and Premium

Grade Gasoline.

Type of Primary Service: The dominant type of service the respondent uses at the service station. Response

categories include Full-Service Pumps, "Self- or Mini-Service Pumps," or " Both Equally." Mini Service is provided

when attendants pump the vehicle fuel but do not provide any other service, such as checking the tire pressure or

washing windshields.

Unleaded Gasoline: Contains not more than 0.05 gram of lead per gallon and not more than 0.005 gram of

phosphorus per gallon. Premium, regular and intermediate grades are included, depending on the octane rating. See

Gasoline, Leaded Gasoline, Regular Grade Gasoline, Intermediate Grade Gasoline, and Premium Grade

Gasoline.

Van: Includes large vans. Generally, the distinction between large vans and minivans is made by the respondents’

answers to "Type of Vehicle" question. Exceptions were: (1) Volkswagen vans were categorized as minivans, and

(2) all other pre-1983 vans were categorized as vans.

Vehicle: For the RTECS, vehicles were any motorized vehicles used by U.S. households for personal transportation.

Excluded were: motorcycles, mopeds, large trucks, and buses. Included were: automobiles, station wagons,

passenger vans, cargo vans, motor homes, pickup trucks, and jeeps or similar vehicles. In order to be included,

vehicles must be: (1) owned by members of the household; (2) company cars not owned by household members

but regularly available to household members for their personal use and are ordinarily kept at home; or (3) rented

or leased for 1 month or more. See Vehicle Stock, Vehicles Used on the Job, Automobile, Mini-vans, Vans,

Pickup Trucks, and Sport-Utility Vehicles.

Vehicle Acquisition: The number of vehicles a household acquires or obtains during the RTECS survey year. The

average number of vehicles in the stock is computed using these data. See Vehicle Disposition.

Vehicle Disposition: The number of vehicles a household disposes of during the RTECS survey year. Disposed

vehicles include those sold, traded, or the owner moved out of the household. The average number of vehicles in

the stock is computed using these data. See Vehicle Acquisition.

Vehicle Fuel Consumption: Vehicle fuel consumption is computed as the vehicle miles traveled divided by the

fuel efficiency reported in MPG’s. For the 1991 RTECS, vehicle fuel consumption was derived from the actual

224 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991
vehicle mileage collected in the RTECS and the assigned MPG’s obtained from the EPA certification files and

adjusted for on-road driving. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies," for an explanation of procedures used

to estimate annual vehicle fuel consumption.

Vehicle Fuel Efficiencies: See Miles per Gallon (MPG) and Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies."

Vehicle Fuel Expenditures: The cost, including taxes, of the gasoline, gasohol or diesel fuel added to the vehicle’s

tank. Expenditures do not include the cost of oil or other items that may have been purchased at the same time as

the vehicle fuel. See Appendix B, "Estimation Methodologies," for an explanation of procedures used to estimate

annual vehicle fuel expenditures.

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): A set of codes, usually alpha-numeric characters, assigned to a vehicle at

the factory and inscribed on the vehicle. When decoded, the VIN provides vehicle characteristics. The VIN was

used in the 1991 RTECS to help match vehicles to the EPA certification file for calculating MPG’s. See

Environmental Protection Agency Certification Files and Appendix A, "How the Survey Was Conducted."

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): The number of miles traveled nationally by the RTECS vehicles for a period of

1 year. In the RTECS, VMT were either calculated using two odometer readings or, for vehicles with less than two

odometer readings, imputed using a regression estimate. See Average Vehicle Miles Traveled, Appendix A, "How

the Survey Was Conducted," and Appendix C, "Quality of the Data."

Vehicle Stock: The number of vehicles owned or used by a household for personal transportation. In the RTECS,

with the exception of the statistics reported as of July 1991, a vehicle was defined in terms of a "Vehicle Year."

If a vehicle was present in a household for the entire year, it was counted as one vehicle. If a vehicle was present

in a household for one-half of the year, it was counted as only one-half of a vehicle. Therefore, the number of

vehicles a sample household was considered as having during the survey year was computed as the days of

possession summed over all vehicles in the household, divided by 366 days (1991 was a leap year). See Average

Number of Vehicles and Vehicles.

Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991 225
Vehicle Used on the Job: A vehicle used by anyone in the household for job-related activities, excluding

commuting to and from work. These vehicles are included in the RTECS. See Vehicle.

VIN: See Vehicle Identification Number.

VMT: See Vehicle Miles Traveled.

226 Energy Information Administration/Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1991