Residential carbon dioxide emissions are almost four times higher now than they were in 1950. Why the big increase? Its not the result of an increase in fossil fuel use in the home. Carbon emissions from home fossil fuel use are about the same as they were in 1950, having remained basically steady since dropping dramatically in the 1970s. This is likely due to the continued improvements in furnace efficiency over the last several decades, beginning with the widespread shift from coal and oil to natural gas, and continuing with the development and increasing installation of high efficiency units.
The increase in home based carbon emissions is the result of a 19 fold increase in home electricity usage over the last 60 years. The second half of the 20th century saw a steady proliferation in the number of electrical appliances and electronic gadgets available to consumers.
One of the most obvious examples of this is clothes dryers. When I was growing up, most people in our neighbourhood didn’t have a dryer; they had a clothesline. Now, it has probably been over 20 years since I have seen clothes drying outside, and some locations even ban that practice; yet dryers use an significant quantity of electricity. When my housemates and I added a dryer to our house when I was in my second year at university, we immediately noticed a large increase in our electrical bill.
The biggest electricity hog in most houses is air conditioning. This is also something that was very rare in the 1950s and is now considered standard equipment in most locations. Following is a list of average electricity consumption of some of the greediest household applicances, in kWh/month.
| Central Air Conditioning | 1925 |
| Electric Water Heater | 450 |
| Stove | 375 |
| Continuous Furnace Fan | 250 |
| Dehumidifier | 150 |
| Large Refrigerator | 115 |
| Large Freezer | 100 |
| Dryer | 85 |
| 60 watt lighbulb | 6 |
Replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs and LEDs is good, but if you have lots of other electrical appliances it will not result in a huge reduction in your electrical consumption. What other steps can be taken by the average family that will make a real dent in their electricity usage?
Personal Climate Change 