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2003 Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU) – Detailed Statistical 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This is an archived version of this report.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) – Detailed Statistical Report.

Foreword

In 2004, Statistics Canada conducted a Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU) on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The survey ties in directly with the OEE's mandate, which is to strengthen and expand Canada's commitment to energy efficiency in order to help address the challenges of climate change. The results of this survey will also be used to assess the effectiveness of existing energy efficiency programs and to develop new ones.

The survey collected data for the 2003 calendar year reference period, and is referred to in this report as 2003 SHEU. Because the data collection occurred in 2004, Statistics Canada refers to this survey as 2004 SHEU.

The 2003 SHEU builds on the surveys of the same name that were undertaken for 1993 and 1997. Its goal is to gather data on the energy and physical characteristics of private dwellings in Canada and on the household use of energy resources.

This report was prepared by Vincent Fecteau and Glen Ewaschuk, of the Demand Policy and Analysis Division of the OEE. Indrani Hulan and Jean-François Bilodeau supervised the project, and David McNabb provided project leadership.

A summary report presenting the main survey findings is also available. This report is entitled 2003 Survey of Household Energy Use – Summary Report.

To learn more about this survey and the topics discussed in this document, please contact:

Glen Ewaschuk
Economist
Office of Energy Efficiency
Natural Resources Canada
580 Booth Street, 18th Floor
Ottawa ON K1A 0E4

Fax: (613) 947-0535
E-mail

How to interpret the tables

The table shown below is typical of the tables presented in this report. This statistical report contains representative data on the SHEU's target population with regard to number of dwellings, dwelling area, energy consumption and energy intensity.

The target population was composed of all dwellings that were occupied as primary residences in the 10 Canadian provinces¹ and that fit into one of the following categories: single detached house, double/row house, duplex,² mobile home or apartment (dwelling in a building with no more than four storeys).

Specifically excluded from the survey's coverage were dwellings not mentioned above, dwellings located in a First Nation community or on a military base, businesses, institutions, demolished dwellings, dwellings under construction, seasonal or secondary residences, and dwellings occupied by someone who works full-time within the Canadian Armed Forces.

As can be seen in the sample table, the estimate for each category is shown in the left column. The number of dwellings is expressed in units; energy consumption, in gigajoules (GJ); heated area, in square metres (); and intensity of each energy source, in gigajoules per square metre (GJ/). Data on the number of dwellings, surface area and energy consumption are rounded to the nearest integer. Consequently, the sum of the data may differ from the total indicated and may vary slightly from one table to the next.

Sample table
Total number of dwellings by province
  Canada Atlantic Quebec Ontario Prairies British Columbia
Single detached house 7,191,540 A 662,335 A 1,513,497 A 2,724,438 A 1,381,219 A 910,051 A
Double/row house 1,721,416 A 94,150 A 469,193 A 707,777 A 246,848 A 203,449 A
Apartment 2,061,257 A 113,063 A 962,222 A 419,965 A 218,054 A 347,952 A
Mobile home 195,176 A 30,794 M U U 56,642 A U

The letters used in the right column of the statistical tables indicate the degree of sampling error or the coefficient of variation for estimates. The letter "A" indicates that the estimate has a low coefficient of variation and is of acceptable quality. The letter "M" indicates a higher coefficient. Estimates with an "M" are precise enough for certain uses, but their use should be accompanied with a cautionary note. A "U" indicates that the estimate's coefficient of variation exceeds 33.3 percent, or that the size of the sample on which the estimate is based had fewer than 30 units. We did not publish these estimates because they might present too great a sampling error or because they had to be omitted in order to comply with the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act.

¹ The Territories are not included in the target population.

² Duplexes are included in the double/row house category in this report.

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