The United States is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the world's energy consumption. Population growth, and the associated growth in housing, commercial floor space, transportation, goods, and services is expected to cause a 0.7 percent annual increase in energy demand for the foreseeable future. The energy used by the commercial and residential sectors represents approximately 40 percent of the nation's total energy consumption, and the share of these two sectors is expected to increase in the future. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) are two major surveys conducted by the Energy Information Administration. The surveys are the most relevant sources of data available to researchers and policy makers on energy consumption in the commercial and residential sectors. Many of the design decisions and operational procedures for the CBECS and RECS were developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and resource limitations during much of the time since then have prevented EIA from making significant changes to the data collections. Effective Tracking of Building Energy Use makes recommendations for redesigning the surveys based on a review of evolving data user needs and an assessment of new developments in relevant survey methods.

The book contains the data required to measure and manage energy consumption in residential buildings. This book describes energy information in detail so that any homeowner can measure energy use on a continuing basis, make decisions regarding how to conserve energy, implement improvements, then monitor the results of those improvements. In the past, it has been difficult to collect residential energy consumption data in real-time. This book helps overcome that challenge by teaching readers how to use self-installed data collection devices that monitor consumption of circuits or appliances, along with freely available information to benchmark against other homes in the area. It demonstrates how information derived from many sources, such as the kWh listed on an electric bill, can be combined into simple calculations that illuminate how well conservation efforts are working from day to day, month to month, or year to year. Homeowners have ultimate control over the decision making process required to realize energy savings. This book simplifies the tasks of collecting, calculating and reporting energy information to the homeowner, putting the power to conserve energy in the hands of the people who will ultimately benefit the most directly from conservation efforts.