Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
“EIA administers the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) to a nationally representative sample of housing units. Specially trained interviewers collect energy characteristics on the housing unit, usage patterns, and household demographics. This information is combined with data from energy suppliers to these homes to estimate energy costs and usage for heating, cooling, appliances and other end uses — information critical to meeting future energy demand and improving efficiency and building design.
First conducted in 1978, the thirteenth RECS was conducted in 2009. The 2009 survey collected data from 12,083 households in housing units statistically selected to represent the 113.6 million housing units that are occupied as a primary residence. Data from the 2009 RECS are tabulated for the four Census regions, the nine Census divisions, and 16 States. These 16 States vary in their geography, climate, and population size.”
Link: http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/index.cfm
Date Inventory Completed: 06/22/2015
Screening
- Is the data collected opinion-based?
- Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
- Is there data available for 2013?
- Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
- Can we access the data by August 15th?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
The purpose of the US Energy Information Agency is to monitor the resource usage of households and to allow policy makers to understand how our resources are being used, and in what quantity.
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
This dataset is collected in order to better understand how energy is consumed by households and to explore energy efficiency in houses.
Who else uses the data?
Businesses, researchers, policy makers
Who do they sell the data to?
Anyone
Method
What is the data collection method?
Survey
What is the type of data collected?
Designed collection
If designed, who created the questions?
US Energy Information Agency (government)
What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)?
Self-report by household
Description
What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Household energy consumption
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
1978-2009
Is data collected and available periodically?
About every 3 years, 2009 was the 13th collection since 1978.
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
Unknown
Selectivity
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
Houses in the US
Accessibility
- How is the data accessed?
Download
- Is it open data?
Yes
Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
No
Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
No
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? YES
Full Inventory
Description
- Features
- What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?
Time-series
- Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?
Census Tracts
Metadata
- Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?
None. Closes thing is: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/
- Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?
None
- Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?
None
- Is there a data dictionary or codebook?
None. Closest thing is terminology list: http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/terminology.cfm
Selectivity
What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?
Household
Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?
What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)?
random
What was the coverage?
Unknown
Stability/Coherence
- Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?
None stated
- Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they?
None stated
- Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they?
None stated
Accuracy
- Any known sources of error?
Potential incorrect recording or wrong answers selected
- Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.
Unknown
Accessibility
- Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)?
Address, names
- Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
No
Privacy and security
- Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?
Yes, by returning the survey
- Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data?
No
- What confidentiality policies does the source have?
Does not include PII
Research
- What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)
See: http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/archive/
- Include any links to research if provided:
See above link
- List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.
Gaps/Concerns
- Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
- Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
- Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
- Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: