What determines residential energy consumption?
This research aims at understanding to what extent different classes of variables predict residential energy and electricity consumption. Using a national representative survey, the EFUS survey, we look at how much of the variability in energy / electricity consumption is due to building variables, socio-demographics, attitudes and behaviour, and for total energy consumption, heating behaviour, and for electricity use appliance ownership and use.
- Total energy use is largely explained by building variables, in particular building size.
- Socio-demographic variables add significantly to explained variance whereas other people variables do not.
- For electricity use (excluding space heating), appliance use and ownership are most important predictors.
- Multicollinearity is an issue when looking at determinants of energy consumption.
Figure 1 – Comparison of modelled factors’ impact on variability of energy usage
Peer reviewed journal articles:
Huebner, G.M., Shipworth, D., Hamilton, I., Chalabi, Z., & Oreszczyn, T. (2016). Understanding electricity consumption: A comparative contribution of building factors, socio-demographics, appliances, behaviours and attitudes. Applied Energy, 177, 692-702,
Huebner, G.M., Hamilton, I., Chalabi, Z., Shipworth, D. & Oreszczyn, T. (2015). Explaining domestic energy consumption – The comparative contribution of building factors, socio-demographics, behaviours and attitudes. Applied Energy, 159, 589-600.
Peer reviewed full conference papers:
Huebner, G.M., Hamilton, I., Oreszczyn, T., & Shipworth, D. (2015). People use the services energy provides – but buildings and technologies determine how much is used. eceee Summer Study Proceedings 2015.
Huebner, G.M., & Shipworth, D. (2016). The role of ‘behaviour’ in determining electricity and total energy consumption in English homes. Presented at BEHAVE, Coimbra, Portugal, 8-9, September, 2016.