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2003 Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU) – Summary Report


This is an archived version of this report. Please refer to the latest version of the
2007 Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU-2007) – Summary Report.

Household Appliances

The operation of appliances is an important use of energy in the residential sector. As a result, SHEU-2003 examined the prevalence and characteristics of appliances in Canadian households during 2003.

Major Appliances

In 2003, major appliances21 accounted for 62 percent of all the energy used by appliances in the residential sector.22 Therefore, it was important that SHEU-2003 obtain information on the characteristics and usage of these appliances in Canadian households.

Refrigerators

Almost every household in Canada used a refrigerator in 2003, and 30 percent of all households used at least two refrigerators. A regional analysis shows that the percentage of households that used more than one refrigerator varied widely by region (see Chart 39). The results ranged from 19 percent of households in the Atlantic region to 37 percent of households in Ontario.

Percentage of Households That Used More Than One Refrigerator, by Region.

The characteristics of the average main and secondary refrigerator also varied widely. A household's main refrigerator had an average age of 9.6 years, and the majority of these refrigerators (54 percent) had a capacity between 16.5 and 20 cu. ft. Secondary refrigerators had an average age of 17.9 years and an equal probability of having a capacity between 16.5 and 20 cu. ft. (33 percent), 12.5 and 16.4 cu. ft. (34 percent) and less than 12.5 cu. ft. (31 percent).

Freezers

In 2003 the Atlantic region and the Prairies had penetration rates of freezers (69 percent and 73 percent respectively) well above the Canadian penetration rate of 61 percent (see Chart 40). These regions also had the highest penetration rates of chest freezers as the household's main freezer.

Penetration Rate of Freezers by Type, by Region.

Chest freezers are generally more energy efficient than upright models. That is because lifting the door on a chest unit releases less cold air. Open the door to an upright freezer, however, and the cold air flows down and out.

Among households in the Atlantic and Prairie regions that used a freezer in 2003, over 90 percent used a chest freezer as their primary freezer.

Dishwashers

SHEU-2003 data found that 55 percent of Canadian households used a dishwasher in 2003. A region-by-region analysis reveals that British Columbia had the highest penetration rate of dishwashers at 62 percent (see Chart 41). The Atlantic region had the lowest penetration rate at 44 percent, while the other regions had penetration rates that were close to the Canadian rate of 55 percent.

Penetration Rate of Dishwashers, by Region.

It is interesting to note that British Columbia was also the region with the highest penetration rate for compact dishwashers. A compact dishwasher is much smaller than a standard-size dishwasher as it only has a capacity of less than eight place settings and six serving pieces. Almost 8 percent of dishwashers used by households in British Columbia during 2003 were compact dishwashers. This high percentage of compact dishwashers in British Columbia may have contributed to the region also having the highest frequency of dishwasher use in Canada. Seventy percent of British Columbia households that used a dishwasher washed more than two loads of dishes in an average week.

Clothes Washers

Although the regional penetration rates of clothes washers did not diverge greatly from the Canadian rate of 88 percent (see Chart 42), the penetration rate of front-loading machines varied significantly from region to region, with a high of 14 percent in Quebec and a low of 4 percent in the Atlantic region.

Penetration Rate of Clothes Washers by Type, by Region.

Both types of clothes washers – front-loading and top-loading – have about the same capacity; however, front-loading washers use about 40 percent less water per load and 50 percent less energy than top-loading washers. Front-loading machines also use less detergent.23

Even though the penetration rates for energy-efficient clothes washers varied greatly between Quebec and the Atlantic region, the energy-efficient clothes washing habits of these regions were quite similar.

An energy-efficient way to use a clothes washer is to rinse with cold water, since clothes rinsed in cold water come out just as clean as those rinsed in warm.24 The Atlantic region and Quebec were the regions where the highest percentage of households with a clothes washer rinsed with cold water, at 86 percent and 84 percent respectively (see Chart 43).

Percentage of Households With a Clothes Washer That Used Cold Water for Rinsing, by Region.

Clothes Dryers

Many new technologies are available in the Canadian market to help households reduce energy consumption. One such technology is a moisture detector, which is a sensor that automatically shuts off a clothes dryer as soon as the clothes are dry.

In 2003, 30 percent of households across Canada that used a clothes dryer within their household used a clothes dryer with a moisture detector (see Chart 44).

Penetration Rate of Moisture Detectors Among Households With a Clothes Dryer, by Region.

And while the Atlantic region and Quebec were the regions with the lowest penetration rates among households with a clothes dryer for this new energy-saving technology, 24 percent and 25 percent respectively, they were able to compensate for this lack of energy efficiency through a decrease in their seasonal clothes-drying energy consumption.

Over one quarter of households in the Atlantic and Quebec regions that used a clothes dryer within their dwelling in 2003 did not use their clothes dryer during an average week in the summer of 2003 (see Chart 45). Only 9 percent of households in other regions that used a clothes dryer in their dwelling in 2003 did not use their clothes dryer during an average week that summer.

Percentage of Households That Did Not Use Their Clothes Dryer During an Average Week in the Summer, by Region.

Other Appliances

The energy used to power other appliances25 in the residential sector increased by 63 percent from 1990 to 2003. This represents a large increase, especially when compared with the 12 percent decrease in energy used to power major appliances in the residential sector over the same period.26 Since the energy used by other appliances increased at such a rapid rate in the residential sector in recent years, it is important to identify which of these other appliances were most prevalent in Canadian households in 2003.

Television sets had the highest penetration rate of all appliances included in the other appliances category, as almost every Canadian household used at least one television set in 2003 (see Chart 46). Furthermore, nearly 65 percent of households used a least two televisions sets, and almost one quarter of households used at least three sets in 2003. No other appliance covered by SHEU-2003 had a higher probability of a household using at least three of them in 2003.

Penetration Rates of Selected Energy-Consuming Appliances.

Not surprisingly, given the high penetration rate of television sets, appliances that operate in conjunction with a television set also had high penetration rates. More than 80 percent of households used at least one VCR, and more than a quarter of these households used at least two VCRs. Also, over 50 percent of households used at least one DVD player, and about a quarter of households used at least one satellite dish. Additionally, more than one quarter of households used at least one video game system in 2003, and 20 percent of these households used two or more of these systems.

Other appliances that are not associated with television sets also had high penetration rates in 2003. Telephones requiring electricity had a penetration rate in Canadian households of 89 percent in 2003, and nearly 60 percent of these households used at least two of these telephones. In addition, the penetration rate of answering machines, excluding voice mail services, was 40 percent for households. And stereos were also popular in 2003, as both component and portable stereos had penetration rates around 60 percent.

21 "Major appliances" includes refrigerators, freezers, ranges, dishwashers, clothes washers and clothes dryers.

22 Natural Resources Canada, Energy Use Data Handbook – 1990 and 1997 to 2003, p. 22.

23 Natural Resources Canada, EnerGuide Appliance Directory 2005, Gatineau, 2005, p. 192.

24 Natural Resources Canada, EnerGuide Appliance Directory 2005, p. 193.

25 "Other appliances" includes small appliances, such as television sets, VCRs, DVD players, stereos and personal computers.

26 Natural Resources Canada, Energy Use Data Handbook – 1990 and 1997 to 2003, p. 22.

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