Originally published in 1985. This volume on household energy conditions considers the energy crisis in the United States and offers an important appraisal of the future of energy consumption by families and the family's adaptations to decreasing energy availability.

Introduction: Household Energy Use: An Overview John Byrne, David A. Schulz, and Marvin B. Sussman Part 1: Cultural Dimensions of U.S. Household Energy Use 1. Household Energy Use in a Political Context Paul C. Stern 2. Survey Data on Attitudes and Behaviors Relevant to Energy: Implications for Policy Roobina Ohanian Tashchian and Mark E. Slama 3. Clean Homes and Large Utility Bills 1900-1940 Ruth S. Cowan, Mark H. Rose and Marsha S. Rose 4. Self Esteem and Energy Use: Toward the Internalization of a Conservation Ethic David A. Schulz Part 2: Energy Policy and Family Energy Use 5. Rethinking the Household Energy Crisis: The Role of Information in Household Energy Conservation John Byrne, Daniel Rich, Francis X. Tannian and Young-Doo Wang 6. Do Consumers Know "What Works" in Energy Conservation? Willett Kempton, Craig K. Harris, Joanne G. Keith and Jeffrey S. Weihl 7. Information and Energy Conservation Clive Seligman 8. Participation in Household Weatherization Programs Marvin E. Olsen 9. Energy Policy Options to Assist Needy Elderly Households Paul L. Solano and William J. Sparling Part 3: Looking Ahead 10. Community Energy Panning: A Case Study of Marysville, Kansas Gary J. Coates, Steve Ernst and Jim Dubois 11. Energy and Household Mobility James Zucchetto 12. Household Energy Use in the Year 2000: Interpreting a Projection Joseph M. Dukert 13. Idiot or Sage? The Human in Relationship to the Energy Cycle Kris Jeter