Using energy intensity as the only indicator for analyzing electricity
consumption: Most studies have used energy intensity
(kWh per square foot) to compare residential electricity consumption
[21e27]. Scaling the electricity consumption by floor
area implies that, for example, a refrigerator in a 2000 sq.ft
house consumes twice as much as the same refrigerator in a
1000 sq.ft house. Instead, we scale only those factors whose
consumption is dependent on floor area (e.g., lighting and
heating loads), and use the unscaled kWh value for other
factors.