Energy cost of living, 1972-1973

The total energy requirements of household consumption of all goods and services have been calculated. Source for consumption data is the 1972-1973 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Survey. These are converted to energy terms using input-output energy intensities. The dependence of household energy use on expenditures, number of household members, degree of urbanization, and other demographic-economic factors, has been investigated graphically and statistically. The major factor determining energy requirement is expenditure level, but this can be affected by up to about 15% by variation in the other factors. In agreement with previous work based on the 1960-1961 BLS Survey, we find that 1. (1) the dependence of total energy requirements on expenditures shows a tendency to saturation; 2. (2) about one-half of the total energy of the average household is a result of the purchase of fuels and electricity while the other half results from the purchase of non-energy commodities. Application to the analysis of an energy tax and rebate program is discussed briefly.