Total U.S.a 1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members

5 or more 

members

All homes 123.53 33.59 45.31 18.27 15.56 10.81

Fuels used for any use (more than 

one may apply)

Electricity 123.53 33.59 45.31 18.27 15.56 10.81

Natural gas 75.31 19.51 27.09 11.46 10.17 7.09

Propaneb 11.14 2.66 4.92 1.51 1.17 0.88

Wood 11.05 1.95 4.81 1.71 1.50 1.07

Fuel oil or kerosene 5.68 1.45 2.14 0.97 0.71 0.41

Electricity end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 64.84 17.94 23.49 9.83 7.93 5.64

Main 42.57 12.94 15.41 5.91 4.85 3.47

Secondary 31.57 7.57 11.53 5.35 4.29 2.83

Air conditioning 109.51 28.76 41.00 16.16 13.92 9.66

Water heating 57.72 17.13 21.17 8.10 6.73 4.57

Cookingc 83.94 23.49 31.11 12.21 10.07 7.07

Natural gas end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 64.47 16.10 23.67 9.98 8.89 5.84

Main 62.71 15.81 22.92 9.74 8.60 5.65

Secondary 7.88 1.46 3.19 1.19 1.27 0.77

Water heating 59.56 14.90 21.53 9.32 8.07 5.74

Cookingc 47.10 11.23 16.85 7.41 6.84 4.77

Outdoor grilling 4.71 0.76 2.06 0.70 0.73 0.46

Propane end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 7.68 1.86 3.56 1.02 0.68 0.55

Main 5.21 1.28 2.29 0.74 0.48 0.41

Secondary 3.01 0.69 1.55 0.33 0.26 0.18

Water heating 4.16 1.02 1.83 0.51 0.45 0.34

Cookingc 5.80 1.38 2.44 0.78 0.76 0.44

Outdoor grillingb 42.09 5.77 17.71 7.12 6.88 4.62

Wood end uses (more than one may 

apply)

Space heating 11.02 1.95 4.80 1.71 1.50 1.06

Main 2.25 0.37 1.12 0.35 0.27 0.13

Secondary 8.83 1.59 3.71 1.36 1.23 0.93

Water heating 0.14 Q 0.05 Q Q Q

Table HC1.4 Fuels used and end uses in U.S. homes, by number of household members, 2020

Number of housing units (million)

Number of household members

Preliminary data release date: May 2022

Final data release date: March 2023
Total U.S.a 1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members

5 or more 

members

All homes 123.53 33.59 45.31 18.27 15.56 10.81

Table HC1.4 Fuels used and end uses in U.S. homes, by number of household members, 2020

Number of housing units (million)

Number of household members

Preliminary data release date: May 2022

Final data release date: March 2023

Fuel oil or kerosene end uses (more 

than one may apply)

Space heating 5.39 1.40 2.07 0.89 0.64 0.38

Main 4.93 1.33 1.87 0.79 0.60 0.34

Secondary 0.48 0.08 0.21 0.10 Q Q

Water heating 2.68 0.67 1.01 0.43 0.40 0.16

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Demand and Integrated Statistics, Form EIA-457A of the 2020 Residential 

Energy Consumption Survey

Notes: Because of rounding, data may not sum to totals. See RECS Terminology for the definitions of terms used in these tables.

a Total U.S. includes all primary occupied housing units in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Vacant housing units, seasonal units, second 

homes, military houses, and group quarters are excluded.

b Households that use propane only for outdoor grilling are excluded from the RECS estimate of households using propane.

c Cooking includes fuels used by major cooking equipment (ovens, cooktops, and ranges).

Q = Data withheld because either the relative standard error (RSE) was greater than 50% or fewer than 10 households were in the reporting sample.

N = No households in reporting sample. 
Total U.S.a 1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members

5 or more 

members

All homes 0.00 1.25 1.15 1.87 2.08 3.13

Fuels used for any use (more than 

one may apply)

Electricity 0.00 1.25 1.15 1.87 2.08 3.13

Natural gas 0.57 1.74 1.69 2.65 2.72 3.47

Propaneb 2.48 6.65 3.17 6.87 8.40 9.89

Wood 2.35 5.28 4.00 6.53 6.72 9.05

Fuel oil or kerosene 3.26 7.17 6.54 7.04 11.51 11.48

Electricity end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 0.81 1.94 1.78 2.57 3.18 4.84

Main 0.92 2.18 2.10 3.70 4.53 5.81

Secondary 1.36 3.84 2.67 4.10 4.39 5.23

Air conditioning 0.35 1.37 1.14 1.90 2.11 3.43

Water heating 0.82 1.77 1.69 2.94 3.75 4.45

Cookingc 0.51 1.46 1.28 2.61 2.76 3.50

Natural gas end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 0.73 2.16 1.63 2.94 3.05 3.69

Main 0.77 2.13 1.75 3.05 3.05 3.79

Secondary 3.01 6.78 5.03 8.69 6.93 10.51

Water heating 0.75 2.07 1.79 3.40 3.08 3.99

Cookingc 0.92 2.93 2.49 3.40 3.81 4.87

Outdoor grilling 3.76 9.62 6.50 10.89 10.11 10.93

Propane end uses (more than one 

may apply)

Space heating 3.03 7.35 4.47 8.64 10.95 12.73

Main 3.76 8.46 5.53 10.32 11.17 15.77

Secondary 5.02 11.66 7.32 13.48 23.01 17.49

Water heating 4.42 9.60 6.25 12.75 13.23 16.79

Cookingc 3.46 8.92 5.05 8.36 9.31 12.40

Outdoor grillingb 1.10 4.03 2.06 3.01 3.12 3.98

Wood end uses (more than one may 

apply)

Space heating 2.35 5.26 3.98 6.53 6.72 9.16

Main 4.88 11.33 7.13 14.92 15.99 25.46

Secondary 2.77 6.01 4.58 7.52 7.51 10.08

Water heating 21.82 74.86 35.43 74.28 49.01 43.57

Preliminary data release date: May 2022

Final data release date: March 2023

Relative standard errors (RSEs) for Table HC1.4 Fuels used and end uses in U.S. homes, by number of 

household members, 2020

RSEs for number of housing units

Number of household members
Total U.S.a 1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members

5 or more 

members

All homes 0.00 1.25 1.15 1.87 2.08 3.13

Preliminary data release date: May 2022

Final data release date: March 2023

Relative standard errors (RSEs) for Table HC1.4 Fuels used and end uses in U.S. homes, by number of 

household members, 2020

RSEs for number of housing units

Number of household members

Fuel oil or kerosene end uses (more 

than one may apply)

Space heating 3.39 7.29 6.59 7.35 10.72 11.34

Main 3.50 7.38 6.52 6.91 10.70 12.24

Secondary 13.56 27.58 22.70 30.45 36.91 46.35

Water heating 5.25 10.40 8.22 10.29 14.65 16.90

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Demand and Integrated Statistics, Form EIA-457A of the 2020 Residential 

Energy Consumption Survey

Notes: See RECS Terminology for the definitions of terms used in these tables.

a Total U.S. includes all primary occupied housing units in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Vacant housing units, seasonal units, second 

homes, military houses, and group quarters are excluded.

b Households that use propane only for outdoor grilling are excluded from the RECS estimate of households using propane.

c Cooking includes fuels used by major cooking equipment (ovens, cooktops, and ranges).