Annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from residential energy use in the United States peaked in 2005 at 1.26 Gt CO_2-eq yr⁻¹, and have since decreased at an average annual rate of 2% yr⁻¹ to 0.96 Gt CO_2-eq yr⁻¹ in 2019. In this article we decompose changes in US residential energy supply and GHG emissions over the period 1990–2015 into relevant drivers for four end-use categories. The chosen drivers encompass changing demographics, housing characteristics, energy end-use intensities, and generation efficiency and GHG intensity of electricity. Reductions in household size, growth in heated floor area per house, and increased access to space cooling are the main drivers of increases in energy and GHG emissions after population growth. Growing shares of newer homes, and reductions in intensity of energy use per capita, household, or floor area have produced moderate primary energy and GHG emission reductions, but improved generation efficiency and decarbonization of electricity supply have brought about far bigger primary energy and GHG emission reductions. Continued decline of residential emissions from electrification of residential energy and decarbonization of electricity supply can be expected, but not fast enough to limit climate change to 1.5 C warming. US residential final energy demand will therefore need to decline in absolute terms to meet such a target. However, without changes in the age distribution, type mix, or average size of housing, improvements in energy efficiency are unlikely to outweigh growth in the number of households from population growth and further household size reductions.

美国居民能源使用产生的年温室气体排放量在2005年达到1.26 Gt CO _2-eq yr ^-1的峰值，此后以每年2％yr ^-1的年平均速度减少至0.96 Gt CO _{2-2。 eq} yr ^-1在2019年。在本文中，我们将1990-2015年期间美国住宅能源供应和温室气体排放的变化分解为四个最终用途类别的相关驱动因素。选择的驱动因素包括不断变化的人口统计，住房特征，能源最终使用强度以及发电效率和温室气体排放强度。人口减少后，家庭人数的减少，每所房屋的加热地板面积的增加以及使用空间制冷的增加，是导致能源和温室气体排放增加的主要驱动力。越来越多的新住房和人均，家庭或建筑面积能源使用强度的减少已产生了适度的一次能源和温室气体排放量减少，但提高的发电效率和电力供应的脱碳带来了更大的一次能源和温室气体排放量减少。可以预见的是，住宅能源的电气化和电力供应的脱碳将导致住宅排放量的持续下降，但这种增长速度不足以将气候变化限制在1.5 C的范围内。因此，美国住宅最终能源需求将需要绝对减少以实现这一目标。但是，如果不改变年龄分布，类型组合或平均住房规模，能源效率的提高就不可能超过人口增长和进一步减少家庭规模所带来的住户数量增长。因此，美国住宅最终能源需求将需要绝对减少以实现这一目标。但是，如果不改变年龄分布，类型组合或平均住房规模，能源效率的提高就不可能超过人口增长和进一步减少家庭规模所带来的住户数量增长。因此，美国住宅最终能源需求将需要绝对减少以实现这一目标。但是，如果不改变年龄分布，类型组合或平均住房规模，能源效率的提高就不可能超过人口增长和进一步减少家庭规模所带来的住户数量增长。