Measures of Residential Energy Consumption and their Relationships to DOE Policy,
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Energy compiles, analyzes and disseminates data and information on energy use. Their purpose is to answer questions that range from the straightforward in concept - how much foreign oil does the U.S. consume annually? - to the complex - what is the interplay between the energy consumed during mechanical removal of moisture in a washing machine versus its thermal removal in a clothes dryer? Each calculation depends upon a measurement of energy, be it barrels of oil, kilowatt hours of electricity or cubic feet of natural gas. Every measurement carries with it a degree of uncertainty and possibility for bias. The natural gas and electricity industries claim that the measurement of energy has the potential to influence the market for their products. The question for this report is whether the measurement of energy consumption at the point of use, or at the point of generation or extraction carries with it a bias toward one fuel or another.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA373692
Entities
People
- David S. Ortiz
- Mark A. Bernstein
Organizations
- RAND Corporation