Electricity Usage (kWh) per Home and by Appliance Systems

average electricity usage per home and appliance system energy consumption

Average Electricity Usage per Home

The following is a list of average energy consumption (electricity usage) per home (averaged for each state). And a list of average electricity usage from appliances and systems within the home.

Awhile ago, a nearby acquaintance was building a rural home. The home was a distance away from the nearest electric utility lines. This person was considering an alternative energy source (solar). One reason for that consideration was the cost of the utility company to bring power up a new private road. Not cheap!

This got me to thinking about the average electricity usage per home. Sure, it varies. Home sizes. Regional consumption differences due to weather, and other factors.

Especially when considering or designing a solar powered home, It’s good to know the average electricity usage.

I wanted to get a bit more specific, so I searched for home energy consumption data per state. More specifically, the kWh (kilowatt hours) consumed per day.

This number will also relate to the size of a battery bank (and the cost thereof) to store enough energy.

That said, there are lots of additional variables beyond just the average home energy consumption. For example, an off-grid home will utilize appliances that run on LP (propane) gas. Examples include the heating system. Cooking stove / range. The hot water heater. Clothes washer and dryer. This will reduce electricity usage requirements!

National Average Energy Consumption Per Home

The average home (among all states) consumes about 900 kWh per month. Or about 30 kWh per day. Data sets will vary a bit. But this is reasonably close.

The state with the least energy consumption per home is Hawaii (515 kWh/mo.). ( 17 kWh/day).

The state with the most average energy consumption per home is Louisiana (1273 kWh/mo.). ( 42 kWh/day).

List of energy usage per home per state

Alphabetical

StatekWh/mo.kWh/day
Alabama121140
Alaska63221
Arizona104935
Arkansas113338
California55719
Colorado72324
Connecticut75225
Delaware94431
Florida107836
Georgia108836
Hawaii51517
Idaho105535
Illinois75525
Indiana100534
Iowa90830
Kansas92631
Kentucky115438
Louisiana127342
Maine55118
Maryland103134
Massachusetts63821
Michigan66522
Minnesota81727
Mississippi122041
Missouri108636
Montana86029
Nebraska103434
Nevada92431
New Hampshire62921
New Jersey68723
New Mexico65522
New York60220
North Carolina109837
North Dakota120540
Ohio89230
Oklahoma114238
Oregon97633
Pennsylvania85729
Rhode Island60220
South Carolina112437
South Dakota105535
Tennessee124542
Texas117439
Utah79827
Vermont56919
Virginia115639
Washington104135
West Virginia111837
Wisconsin70323
Wyoming89430

I sourced this data from from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Okay, so now we know the average electricity usage per home. But where does it all go? Which appliances and systems use the most electricity? Can that be mitigated?

So that led me to search for more data. Detailed household site electricity end-use consumption.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Consumption and Efficiency Statistics, 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (apparently the most recent available).

I gleaned their statistics and built a simple chart. Here it is:

Average Electricity Usage per Appliance or System from All Homes in the U.S.

kWh (billions)

kWhSystem
214Air conditioning
187Space heating
173Water heating
131Lighting
89Refrigerators
87TVs and related
57Clothes dryers
23Ceiling fans
21Separate freezers
18Cooking Stoves – Ovens
15Dehumidifiers
14Microwaves
12Pool pumps
8Humidifiers
7Dishwashers
7Hot tub heaters and pumps
6Clothes washers

Wow. That’s pretty interesting, right? The top three make up a bit more than half of all electricity usage in the home. Air conditioning. Heating. Water heaters.

Building Off-Grid? Like I said earlier, you can reduce your electricity usage with LP (propane) appliance systems. That’s how my home is set up.

The following Solar Charger / Inverter system will easily power such a home:

Sol-Ark

[ Read: The Four Essentials of Off Grid Solar ]

[ Read: Grid-Tied Solar Systems Don’t Work So Well When The Grid Is Down ]