The characteristics of your home play a major role in how much energy it uses. Factors such as location, type, and size all affect how hard your heating and cooling systems must work to maintain a comfortable indoor environment. Understanding these characteristics can help explain why similar households may have very different energy bills.
Where your home is located plays a major role in how much energy it uses, especially for heating and cooling. Because these systems are often the largest energy consumers in a home, local climate conditions strongly affect overall energy demand. In order to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures, homes in colder climates typically require more energy for heating, while homes in hotter climates require more energy for cooling.
A home’s immediate surroundings also influence energy use. Homes shaded by trees or nearby buildings often stay cooler in warm weather, reducing the need for air conditioning. In contrast, homes surrounded by dark or reflective surfaces, such as pavement or reflective glass facades, can absorb heat into the home, increasing cooling costs. Understanding how climate and surroundings affect your home can help you identify strategies to manage energy use more effectively.
The type of home you live in also affects energy use. Condos, co-ops, and apartments typically use less energy than townhouses or standalone homes. This is because they share walls with other homes rather than the outdoors.
Shared walls, floors, and ceilings help trap heat during the winter and block heat during the summer. As a result, each home’s heating and cooling systems don’t have to work as hard to keep indoor temperatures comfortable compared to homes that are exposed on all sides.
Home size has a direct relationship with energy use. Larger homes generally consume more energy than smaller homes because there is more indoor space to heat and cool. Heating and cooling systems in larger homes must work harder and run longer to maintain comfortable temperatures throughout the space.
While efficient equipment and good insulation can reduce energy use in larger homes, size alone is a key driver of total energy consumption. Smaller homes typically require less energy to operate, all else being equal.