Technology Doesn't Make the US More Energy Efficient

The chart above (data series from here) shows annual per capita energy use of the USA from 1960 through 2015. The data rely on macro statistics of oil imports, exports, and storage. In spite of improvements in technology: high efficiency furnaces, appliances, better tires, slightly improved fuel economy in cars, the average energy use of every man, woman, and child in the US is basically the same year to year for the past several decades. It's almost constant from 1988-2008. It declined starting in 2005 through the end of the series. Notably, oil production peaked in 2005 along with oil prices.

GDP statistics show a 350% increase from 1988 through 2015. Energy use actually declined per capita over the same period (See crapflation). The GDP in 1988 was $5.2T. In 2015 it was $18T.

Each person in the US has the equivalent of a 10 kWatt (13 horsepower) generator running 24/7/365.