The US Energy Information Administration administers the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) to a nationally representative sample of housing units. The 2015 RECS contains information sorting air conditioning data by housing unit type, owner/renter status, year of construction, number of household members, household income, climate region, Northeast and Midwest regions, South and West regions, and U.S. homes by home size.
2. Survey of Construction (SOC)
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) helps to fund the SOC, a national sample survey of new houses. New houses are sampled at an overall national rate of 1 in 50. Houses are classified into four categories: houses built for sale, contractor-built houses, owner-built houses, and houses built for rent. The survey includes the frequency with which air conditioning occurs in completed single family homes, sold single family homes, multifamily units, and multifamily buildings. Data are available monthly and annually for housing starts since 1959, for new home sales since 1963, and for completions since 1968.
3. American Housing Survey (AHS)
The AHS is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States, conducted in odd-numbered years, with samples redrawn in 1985 and 2015. Utilizing the AHS Table Creator and selecting for “Heating, Air Conditioning, and Appliances” tables, data can be found regarding types of air conditioning and number of rooms within the house that have it. Data can be found for rotating samples of states and metropolitan areas.
Barnard College/Environmental Department-Sabin Center Project on Environmental Justice 