Why Older Americans Need More Energy

A study was conducted at Harvard Medical School on the consumption of energy in households by Hossein Estiri. The computational demographer authored a paper in which he found that energy consumption rose in the age group of 30 to 54 years when people got married, moved to larger homes and raised children. Then the use of energy stabilized for people in their 60s, while surprisingly the use of energy increased in the 70s and continued to go up.

Despite changes in income groups and housing styles, the trend of increased energy consumption in the 70s seemed to apply across the board. Energy consumption in warmer regions was really elevated for older age group people. This could be attributed to more need for air conditioning. Also older people may not be able to maintain their homes well enough to conserve energy.

Another possible factor would be that the appliances they use may be older and less efficient compared to the technology being used by their younger counterparts. Think of old refrigerators, toasters and microwave ovens. There may not be actual need for more energy, but a science project may prove that if the gadgets being used by the people are changed, they may need less energy in the future.