Percentage of different sources of space heating energy. Percent of households that have different types of air conditioning equipment. National residential energy consumption was 10.0 quadrillion Btu in 1993, a 9-percent increase from the 9.2 quadrillion Btu consumed in the last study in 1990. These changes are statistically significant. Between 1990 and 1993, national expenditures for household energy increased by 12 percent from 110 billion dollars to 124 billion dollars.
Natural gas remains the predominant fuel for space heating.
More than 60 percent of new homes use natural gas for main space heating. Most of this gain comes from improvements in space heating. New houses have the newest heating equipment powered by either electricity or natural gas and their shells tend to be more airtight. The 1993 RECS over sampled new homes to learn more about their energy efficiency. Weather has a significant effect on energy consumption.