United States. A survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that sales of HVAC equipment for the residential market have increased since 1990 in part because homes built are 27% larger than in previous times.
EIA says central air conditioners are installed in 85% of residences built in the past two decades, which has increased the amount of space to air-condition.
Another important fact indicates that of the 139,000 million square feet refrigerated in the housing stock in the US, more than 58,000, or 40%, is attributable to homes built in the last two decades. In 1993, only 68% of all occupied dwellings were equipped with air conditioning units. The latest results from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey show that 87% of American homes are now equipped with air conditioning.
The EIA report also indicates that the coldest areas of the United States have the largest homes, while small homes are in medium climates.
Finally, the report says that current homes have alternatives to be self-sufficient and consume less energy, something that little by little the manufacturers of air conditioning systems are adapting to remain as competent as until now.
