Million U.S. Housing Units

Total......................................................................... 111.1 78.1 64.1 4.2 1.8 2.3 5.7

Do Not Have Cooling Equipment........................... 17.8 11.3 9.3 0.6 Q 0.4 0.9

Have Cooling Equipment........................................ 93.3 66.8 54.7 3.6 1.7 1.9 4.8

Use Cooling Equipment......................................... 91.4 65.8 54.0 3.6 1.7 1.9 4.7

Have Equipment But Do Not Use it........................ 1.9 1.1 0.8 Q N Q Q

Air-Conditioning Equipment1, 2

Central System...................................................... 65.9 51.7 43.9 2.5 0.7 1.6 3.1

Without a Heat Pump......................................... 53.5 41.1 34.8 2.1 0.5 1.2 2.6

With a Heat Pump.............................................. 12.3 10.6 9.1 0.4 Q 0.3 0.6

Window/Wall Units................................................. 28.9 16.5 12.0 1.3 1.0 0.4 1.7

1 Unit................................................................. 14.5 7.2 5.4 0.5 0.2 Q 0.9

2 Units................................................................ 9.1 5.5 3.7 0.5 0.6 Q 0.6

3 or More Units.................................................. 5.4 3.8 2.9 0.4 Q N 0.2

Central Air-Conditioning......................................... 65.9 51.7 43.9 2.5 0.7 1.6 3.1

Housing Units Served by

Central Air-Conditioning Equipment

One Housing Unit............................................... 64.2 51.4 43.7 2.5 0.7 1.5 3.1

Two or More Housing Units................................ 1.7 0.3 Q N Q Q Q

Do Not Have Central A/C Equipment................. 45.2 26.4 20.2 1.7 1.1 0.7 2.6

Number of Rooms Cooled by Central

Air-Conditioning in Summer 2005

None.................................................................. 1.4 0.8 0.6 Q N Q Q

1......................................................................... 0.7 Q Q N N Q Q

2......................................................................... 2.1 1.2 0.9 Q N Q Q

3......................................................................... 7.5 4.7 3.6 0.4 Q Q 0.4

4......................................................................... 7.9 4.4 2.5 0.3 Q 0.6 0.8

5 or More............................................................ 46.3 40.4 36.1 1.6 0.4 0.5 1.7

Proportion of Rooms Air-Conditioned

None.................................................................. 1.4 0.8 0.6 Q N Q Q

Some, But Not All of the Rooms........................ 8.4 7.2 6.3 0.5 Q Q 0.4

All of the Rooms................................................. 56.1 43.7 37.0 1.9 0.7 1.4 2.7

Frequency of Central Air-Conditioner Use

Never................................................................. 1.4 0.8 0.6 Q N Q Q

Only a Few Times When Needed....................... 11.4 8.8 7.0 0.9 Q 0.4 0.4

Quite a Bit.......................................................... 12.6 9.7 8.2 0.5 Q Q 0.6

All Summer........................................................ 40.5 32.3 28.1 1.0 0.4 0.9 2.0

Age of Central Air-Conditioner

Used by One Housing Unit

Less than 2 Years.......................................... 9.0 7.6 6.7 0.4 Q Q 0.3

2 to 4 Years.................................................... 11.0 9.1 7.8 0.4 Q Q 0.6

5 to 9 Years.................................................... 16.3 14.2 12.3 0.6 Q Q 0.9

10 to 19 Years................................................ 16.8 14.2 12.0 0.7 Q 0.4 0.9

20 Years or More............................................ 6.5 4.5 3.6 0.3 Q 0.3 Q

Don't Know..................................................... 4.5 1.7 1.3 QQQQ

Mobile 

Homes

Table HC3.6 Air Conditioning Characteristics by Owner-Occupied Housing Units, 2005

Air Conditioning Characteristics Detached Attached 2 to 4 

Units

 OwnerOccupied 

Housing 

Units 

(millions)

Type of Owner-Occupied Housing Unit

U.S.

Housing 

Units 

(millions

Single-Family Units Apartments in 

Buildings With--

5 or More 

Units

Energy Information Administration

2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Preliminary Housing Characteristic Tables
 Million U.S. Housing Units

Mobile 

Homes

Table HC3.6 Air Conditioning Characteristics by Owner-Occupied Housing Units, 2005

Air Conditioning Characteristics Detached Attached 2 to 4 

Units

 OwnerOccupied 

Housing 

Units 

(millions)

Type of Owner-Occupied Housing Unit

U.S.

Housing 

Units 

(millions

Single-Family Units Apartments in 

Buildings With--

5 or More 

Units

Used by Two or More Housing Units

Less than 2 Years.......................................... Q NNNNNN

2 to 4 Years.................................................... Q NNNNNN

5 to 9 Years.................................................... 0.3 Q Q N N Q Q

10 to 19 Years................................................ 0.3 Q Q N N Q N

20 Years or More............................................ 0.3 Q Q N Q N N

Don't Know..................................................... 0.7 NNNNNN

Household Pays for Electricity

for Central Air-Conditioning

Yes.................................................................... 63.6 51.5 43.7 2.5 0.7 1.5 3.1

No...................................................................... 2.3 0.3 Q Q N Q Q

Window/Wall Unit Air-Conditioning....................... 28.9 16.5 12.0 1.3 1.0 0.4 1.7

Frequency Most-Used Unit Used

Never................................................................. 0.6 0.3 0.3 N N N Q

Only a Few Times When Needed....................... 12.1 7.2 5.4 0.6 0.5 Q 0.5

Quite a Bit.......................................................... 7.5 4.6 3.3 0.4 0.3 Q 0.5

All Summer........................................................ 8.6 4.4 3.1 0.3 Q Q 0.8

Age of Most-Used Unit

Less than 2 Years.............................................. 6.4 3.4 2.5 0.3 0.3 Q 0.2

2 to 4 Years....................................................... 7.8 4.6 3.1 0.4 Q Q 0.7

5 to 9 Years....................................................... 7.0 4.5 3.5 0.4 0.3 N 0.3

10 to 19 Years.................................................... 3.7 2.5 2.0 Q Q Q 0.3

20 Years or More............................................... 2.1 1.0 0.7 QQQQ

Don't Know......................................................... 1.8 0.4 0.2 Q N Q Q

Household Pays for Electricity for

Window/Wall Air-Conditioners

Yes.................................................................... 26.1 16.0 11.7 1.3 1.0 0.3 1.6

No...................................................................... 2.2 0.2 Q Q N Q Q

 1. In the 2005 RECS 1.5 million housing units reported having both central and window/wall air conditioners.

 2. The number of housing units using air-conditioning includes a small, undetermined number of housing units where the fuel for central airconditioning was some fuel other than electricity; these housing units were treated as if the air-conditioning fuel was electricity.

 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 Characteristic Tables