Is Television Ownership on the Decline?

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Televisions and “peripheral equipment” - for example, cable boxes, DVRs, and video game consoles - account for about 6% of total electricity consumption in U.S. homes according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). But, the average number of televisions in U.S. households is on the decline, according to the EIA’s most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).

The RECS Household Survey gathers data from more than 5,600 households in order to provide insights on how energy is used in homes across the country. According to their most recent survey, the percentage of homes without a television rose from 1.3% to 2.6% between 2009 and 2015. Furthermore, the percentage of homes with more than two televisions declined over the same period.

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Overall, the ownership of electronic devices varies significantly by age – in particular for televisions and peripheral devices – according to the latest RECS. For example, despite their smaller household sizes, older households have more televisions and desktop computers than younger households.