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Residential Appliance Saturation Study

In 2009, the California Energy Commission funded and administered a Residential Appliance Saturation Study (RASS) that serves as an update to the 2003 RASS, with the same utilities participating - Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas), and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

The study was implemented as a mail survey with an option for respondents to complete it online. The survey requested households to provide information on appliances, equipment, and general consumption patterns. Data collection was completed in early 2010.

The study yielded energy consumption estimates for 27 electric and 10 natural gas residential end-uses and appliance saturations for households. These consumption estimates were developed using a conditional demand analysis, an approach that applied statistical methods to combine survey data, household energy consumption data and weather information to calculate average annual consumption estimates per appliance. The 2009 RASS resulted in end-use saturations for 24,464 individually metered and 1,257 master-metered households. Survey and conditional demand analysis results were weighted to provide population level estimates representative of the participating utilities that allow comparison across utility service territories, forecast climate zones and other variables of interest- dwelling type, dwelling age group, and income.

The 2018 RASS study is currently being prepared by the Energy Commission and will be available June 2019.

2009 Residential Appliance Saturation Study

KEMA Residential Appliance Saturation Study Database

Data from the above report may be easily accessed through the KEMA Residential Appliance Saturation Study Database which allows interactive queries.

Disclaimer: the KEMA database is neither sponsored nor maintained by the California Energy Commission. The Energy Commission, therefore, makes no warrant, express or implied, and assumes no legal liability for information found in the database and accompanying website.

2003 Residential Appliance Saturation Study

For more information, please contact:

Glen Sharp
Project Manager
California Energy Commission
Phone: 916-654-4764
E-mail: glen.sharp@energy.ca.gov