Total.................................................................................... 111.1 47.1 19.0 22.7 22.3

Personal Computers

Do Not Use a Personal Computer.................................. 35.5 16.9 6.5 4.6 7.6

Use a Personal Computer.............................................. 75.6 30.3 12.5 18.1 14.7

Most-Used Personal Computer

Type of PC

Desk-top Model......................................................... 58.6 22.9 9.8 14.1 11.9

Laptop Model............................................................. 16.9 7.4 2.7 4.0 2.9

Hours Turned on Per Week

Less than 2 Hours..................................................... 13.6 5.7 1.8 2.9 3.2

2 to 15 Hours............................................................. 29.1 11.9 5.1 6.5 5.7

16 to 40 Hours........................................................... 13.5 5.5 2.5 3.3 2.2

41 to 167 Hours......................................................... 6.3 2.5 1.1 1.6 1.1

On All the Time.......................................................... 13.0 4.7 1.9 3.8 2.5

Status of PC When Not Being Used

Left On...................................................................... 12.5 5.2 1.7 3.4 2.2

Completely Turned Off.............................................. 43.6 18.2 7.4 9.3 8.6

Manually Put into Sleep Mode................................... 19.4 6.9 3.3 5.3 3.9

CPU Goes to Sleep When PC is Left On

Yes........................................................................ 9.1 3.6 1.3 2.6 1.7

No.......................................................................... 3.4 1.6 0.4 0.8 0.5

Type of Monitor Used

Desk-top

CRT (Standard Monitor)......................................... 45.0 17.7 7.5 10.2 9.6

Flat-Panel LCD...................................................... 13.6 5.2 2.3 3.9 2.2

Laptop (Flat-panel LCD)............................................ 16.9 7.4 2.7 4.0 2.9

Status of Monitor When Not in Use

Screen-Saver............................................................ 6.1 2.6 1.1 1.3 1.2

Automatic Sleep Mode.............................................. 4.4 1.8 0.5 1.4 0.8

Monitor is Turned Off................................................. 2.0 0.8 Q 0.8 Q

Second Most-Used Personal Computer

Use a Second Personal Computer................................. 25.3 9.1 4.2 7.3 4.6

Type of PC

Desk-top Model......................................................... 15.8 5.6 2.8 4.3 3.1

Lap-top Model............................................................ 9.4 3.5 1.3 3.1 1.6

Hours Turned on Per Week

Less than 2 Hours..................................................... 8.2 3.1 1.5 2.0 1.6

2 to 15 Hours............................................................. 9.9 3.6 1.5 3.0 1.7

16 to 40 Hours........................................................... 3.2 1.0 0.5 1.2 0.5

41 to 167 Hours......................................................... 1.2 0.4 Q 0.3 Q

On All the Time.......................................................... 2.8 1.0 0.5 0.8 0.5

Urban/Rural Location

(as Self-Reported)

City Town Suburbs Rural

 Million U.S. Housing Units

Home Electronics Usage Indicators

Table HC8.12 Home Electronics Usage Indicators by Urban/Rural Location, 2005

Housing

Units 

(millions)

Energy Information Administration:

2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Preliminary Housing Characteristics Tables
Urban/Rural Location

(as Self-Reported)

City Town Suburbs Rural

 Million U.S. Housing Units

Home Electronics Usage Indicators

Table HC8.12 Home Electronics Usage Indicators by Urban/Rural Location, 2005

Housing

Units 

(millions)

Status of PC When Not in Use

Left On...................................................................... 3.2 1.1 0.6 0.9 0.6

Completely Turned Off.............................................. 17.8 6.7 2.8 4.9 3.4

Manually Put into Sleep Mode................................... 4.2 1.3 0.9 1.5 0.6

CPU Goes to Sleep When PC is Left On

Yes........................................................................ 2.2 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.3

No.......................................................................... 1.0 0.3 Q 0.3 0.3

Type of Monitor Used

Desk-top

CRT (Standard Monitor)......................................... 11.6 4.4 2.0 2.8 2.3

Flat-Panel LCD...................................................... 4.2 1.2 0.8 1.4 0.8

Laptop (Flat-panel LCD)............................................ 9.4 3.5 1.3 3.1 1.6

Monitor Goes to Sleep When Not in Use

Screen-Saver............................................................ 1.7 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.3

Automatic Sleep Mode.............................................. 1.0 0.3 Q 0.3 0.3

Monitor is Turned Off................................................. 0.5 QQQQ

Use of Internet

Have Access to Internet

Yes............................................................................ 66.9 26.6 11.0 16.7 12.6

Dial-up (phone)...................................................... 26.8 9.8 3.9 4.9 8.2

DSL....................................................................... 19.1 8.3 3.4 5.0 2.4

Cable Modem........................................................ 20.8 8.4 3.5 6.8 2.1

No............................................................................. 8.7 3.7 1.5 1.4 2.1

Status of DSL Connection When Not in Use

Turned Off............................................................. 5.0 2.8 0.7 1.0 0.5

Left On................................................................... 14.2 5.5 2.7 4.0 1.9

Status of Cable Modem When Not in Use

Turned Off............................................................. 4.1 1.8 0.4 1.4 0.4

Left On................................................................... 16.7 6.6 3.1 5.4 1.6

Have a Wireless Router

Yes........................................................................ 2.4 1.1 0.4 0.5 0.3

No.......................................................................... 12.7 4.9 1.9 4.7 1.2

No DSL or Modem Connection.............................. 27.0 9.9 4.0 4.9 8.2

Primary Use of PC(s) 

Personal Use................................................................ 39.8 16.5 5.8 10.4 7.2

Recreation..................................................................... 14.4 5.0 3.2 3.1 3.1

Education/School.......................................................... 10.3 4.9 1.8 1.7 1.9

Home Business............................................................. 7.6 2.5 1.2 1.9 1.9

Telecommuting............................................................. 3.5 1.4 0.4 1.0 0.6

Telecommuting by Personal Computer

1 or 2 Days per Week................................................... 0.8 Q Q 0.3 Q

3 to 5 Days per Week.................................................... 1.3 0.7 Q 0.3 0.2

More than 5 Days per Week.......................................... 1.4 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.2

Energy Information Administration:

2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Preliminary Housing Characteristics Tables
Urban/Rural Location

(as Self-Reported)

City Town Suburbs Rural

 Million U.S. Housing Units

Home Electronics Usage Indicators

Table HC8.12 Home Electronics Usage Indicators by Urban/Rural Location, 2005

Housing

Units 

(millions)

PC Printer........................................................................ 65.4 25.1 10.5 16.5 13.4

With Built-in Fax/Copier................................................ 27.7 10.0 4.8 7.2 5.7

Without Built-in Fax/Copier............................................ 37.8 15.1 5.7 9.3 7.7

Use a Color Television Set................................................. 109.7 46.4 18.8 22.5 22.0

Weekday Hours Turned on per Day

Less than 1 Hour........................................................... 6.2 3.0 1.1 0.9 1.2

1 to 3 Hours.................................................................. 49.1 20.5 7.9 10.8 9.9

Most of the Day............................................................. 46.0 19.4 7.9 9.4 9.3

On All the Time............................................................. 8.4 3.5 1.9 1.4 1.6

No Television................................................................ 1.4 0.7 Q Q 0.3

Weekend Hours Turned on per Day

Less than 1 Hour........................................................... 7.3 3.2 1.0 1.3 1.8

1 to 3 Hours.................................................................. 35.9 15.3 5.6 8.2 6.8

Most of the Day............................................................. 56.4 23.3 10.1 11.5 11.5

On All the Time............................................................. 10.1 4.5 2.0 1.6 1.9

No Television................................................................ 1.4 0.7 Q Q 0.3

TV-Based Game System Usage per Week

Use a TV-Based Game System.................................... 34.7 14.9 5.9 7.6 6.4

Less than 5 Hours..................................................... 19.9 8.4 3.4 4.5 3.5

5 to 10 Hours............................................................. 8.9 3.6 1.5 1.8 2.0

11 to 15 hours........................................................... 2.4 1.1 0.4 0.5 0.4

16 to 20 Hours........................................................... 1.5 0.8 Q 0.3 0.3

More than 20 Hours................................................... 2.1 0.9 0.4 0.4 0.3

Do Not Use a TV-Based Game System........................ 75.0 31.6 12.9 14.9 15.6

 Q = Data withheld either because the Relative Standard Error (RSE) was greater than 50 percent or fewer than 10 households were 

sampled.

 N = No cases in reporting sample.

 Notes: ● Because of rounding, data may not sum to totals. ● See Glossary for definition of terms used in these tables.

 Source: Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Markets and End Use, Forms EIA-457 A, B, C of the 2005 

Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Energy Information Administration:

2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Preliminary Housing Characteristics Tables