Home >Frequently Asked Questions > Electricity
Frequently Asked Questions – Electricity
Questions About Electricity...
What is the outlook for heating fuel prices for 2009 and 2010?
How much electricity does a typical American home use?
How is electricity consumed in U.S. homes?
How many coal-fired power plants are there in the U.S.?
How much electricity does a typical nuclear power plant generate?
How much does it cost to produce electricity with renewable energy?
 
Back to all Frequently Asked Questions topics
 
 
 Learn More About Electricity!

Visit our Electricity Basics 101 page to learn about electricity generation.

Textbook titled Electricity Basics 101
 
 
Question: How much electricity does a typical American home use?

In 2007, the average monthly residential electricity consumption was 936 kilowatthours (kWh).

U.S. monthly electricity use and price (Excel)
Last updated: February 6, 2009
Back to Top
 
Question: How is electricity consumed in U.S. homes?

Appliances account for 64.7% of electricity consumption in the average American household (2001). Refrigerators consumed the most electricity (14%), followed by lighting (9%).

2001 Statistics on electricity consumption by appliance

Last updated: April 16, 2008
Back to Top
 
Question: How many coal-fired power plants are there in the U.S.?

In 2007, 617 facilities burned coal to generate electricity:

476 are "power plants" owned by electric utilities and independent power producers that generate and sell electricity as their primary business;
141 are industrial, commercial and institutional facilities, where most of the electricity generated is consumed on-site.
Many of these facilities also burned other fuels, since they may have one or more generators that can burn many different fuels.
  • Number of generators and capacity by energy source, 2007
  • Downloadable databases by individual: Power plants or Generators
  • Last updated: March 26, 2009
    Back to Top
     
    Question: How much electricity does a typical nuclear power plant generate?

    In 2008, the “average” nuclear power plant generated about 12.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). There were 65 nuclear power plants with 104 operating nuclear reactors that generated a total of 808.97 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), or almost 20% of the nation’s electricity.

    Thirty-six of those plants had two or more reactors. The smallest nuclear plant has a single reactor with 476 MW of generation capacity and the largest has three reactors with a total of 3,825 MW of capacity.

    The average plant capacity factor was 91.9%.

    Last updated: April 1, 2009
     
     
    People Are Asking...
    What’s up, and down, with gasoline prices lately?
    Why don't fuel prices change as quickly as crude oil prices?
    What is the outlook for heating fuel prices for 2009 and 2010?
    How do I compare heating fuels?
    How do I calculate/find diesel fuel surcharges?
       
      More Questions
     
    Learn About Energy
    Energy Basics 101
    EIA Kids’ Page
    Glossary
    Contact An Expert
     
    Ask a Question

    Didn't find the answer to your question? Ask an energy expert!

    Your email address is required: