Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Individual Household Energy Consumption: A Systematic Review

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchismita Bhattacharjee ◽  
Georg Reichard
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Energy consumption in the United States’ residential sector has been marked by a steady growth over the past few decades, in spite of the implementation of several energy efficiency policies. To develop effective energy policies for the residential sector, it is of utmost importance to study the various factors affecting residential energy consumption. Earlier studies have identified and classified various individual factors responsible for the increment in household energy consumption, and have also analyzed the effect of socio-economic factors such as standard-of-living and income on overall household energy consumption. This research study identifies the socio-economic factors affecting household energy consumption. Potential reasons for the variation in residential energy efficiency consumption have been investigated in previous studies that only represent viewpoints of investigators analyzing specific problems. Additionally, a comprehensive review of literature failed to reveal existing research that had systematically explored the interdependencies among the various factors that could possibly affect residential energy consumption to give an overall perspective of these factors. Widely used academic and scholarly scientific databases were employed by two independent investigators to search for original research investigations. A total of more than 200 research studies were found by the investigators, with almost ninety percent agreement between the two investigators. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this research study the authors systematically reviewed 51 prominent research studies to create a comprehensive list of factors affecting residential energy consumption. The results are discussed in this review.

scholarly journals Empirical Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 Social Distancing on Residential Electricity Consumption Based on Demographic Characteristics and Load Shape

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7523
Author(s):  
Minseok Jang ◽  
Hyun Cheol Jeong ◽  
Taegon Kim ◽  
Dong Hee Suh ◽  
Sung-Kwan Joo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Load Shape ◽  
The Impact

Since January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been impacting various aspects of people’s daily lives and the economy. The first case of COVID-19 in South Korea was identified on 20 January 2020. The Korean government implemented the first social distancing measures in the first week of March 2020. As a result, energy consumption in the industrial, commercial and educational sectors decreased. On the other hand, residential energy consumption increased as telecommuting work and remote online classes were encouraged. However, the impact of social distancing on residential energy consumption in Korea has not been systematically analyzed. This study attempts to analyze the impact of social distancing implemented as a result of COVID-19 on residential energy consumption with time-varying reproduction numbers of COVID-19. A two-way fixed effect model and demographic characteristics are used to account for the heterogeneity. The changes in household energy consumption by load shape group are also analyzed with the household energy consumption model. There some are key results of COVID-19 impact on household energy consumption. Based on the hourly smart meter data, an average increase of 0.3% in the hourly average energy consumption is caused by a unit increase in the time-varying reproduction number of COVID-19. For each income, mid-income groups show less impact on energy consumption compared to both low-income and high-income groups. In each family member, as the number of family members increases, the change in electricity consumption affected by social distancing tends to decrease. For area groups, large area consumers increase household energy consumption more than other area groups. Lastly, The COVID-19 impact on each load shape is influenced by their energy consumption patterns.

Understanding change and continuity in residential energy consumption

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Gram-Hanssen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Consumer Goods ◽  
Practice Theory ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Consumer Studies ◽  
The Individual

Practice theory has recently emerged within consumer studies as a promising approach that shifts focus from the individual consumer towards the collective aspects of consumption, and from spectacular and conspicuous dimensions of consumption towards routine and mundane aspects of consumption. Practice theory is, however, not a commonly agreed upon theory, but more like an approach, or a turn within contemporary social theory. When using practice theory in consumer studies, there are thus several conditions that need further clarification. The focus in this article is on how change and continuity in practices can be understood in practice theory. Discussions will include the balance between routinization and reflectivity as well as ways to understand the role of new technology in introducing change in consumer practices. One aspect of this is a discussion on how to include technologies and other types of material consumer goods in practice theory. Case studies on household energy consumption are used as an empirical basis for these discussions. Looking at household energy consumption through the theoretical lens of practice theory necessitates discussion on whether energy consumption should be viewed as one single practice or part of several different practices. The latter stimulates questioning on how these different consumer practices are related to each other horizontally and vertically, as parallel practices or as different levels of practices, and whether changes in one practice affect (or refrain from affecting) other related consumer practices, whether through reflexivity, routines or the materiality of consumer goods.

scholarly journals ENERGY KNOWLEDGE IN INFLUENCING HOUSEHOLD’S ENERGY CONSERVATION BEHAVIOUR

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
pp. 215-222
Author(s):  
Nur Azzlin Mangsor ◽  
Low Sheau-Ting
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Increasing Trend

Malaysia needs to ensure stable energy consumption to improve environmental quality and energy security. The increasing trend of the country’s population growth and economic development are parallel with the country’s overall energy demand. The building sector, commercial and residential sector has contributed to more than 12% of the country's final energy consumption in the year 2018. The energy demand from the household sector is on an increasing trend. The residential sector is responsible for the increasing trend of energy consumption with the improvement of lifestyle and living standards. Variation in residents’ behaviour can cause significant differences in energy consumption due to dwellings, household size, income, and building energy consumption. Past studies have shown the identification of the relevant psychological factors that formulating energy conservation behaviour contributed to household energy consumption reduction. By focusing on the psychological dimension, this study explores the role of energy knowledge in influencing energy conservation behaviour among households in Malaysia. Energy knowledge is about the household’s understanding in the context of energy-saving and consumption. Despite massive information and awareness of climate change about the contribution of climate change from household energy consumption, many households still do not practice energy conservation actively. By conducting a systematic literature review, this study found that energy knowledge plays an essential role in influencing household energy conservation behaviour. The findings of this study could help the institutions and relevant authorities to gain a better understanding of the role of energy knowledge as one of the psychological factors in household energy conservation behaviour.

scholarly journals Modeling Residential Energy Consumption

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-193
Author(s):  
Roya Gholami ◽  
Rohit Nishant ◽  
Ali Emrouznejad
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Consumption Behavior ◽  
Data Mining Approach ◽  
Residential Characteristics

Smart meters that allow information to flow between users and utility service providers are expected to foster intelligent energy consumption. Previous studies focusing on demand-side management have been predominantly restricted to factors that utilities can manage and manipulate, but have ignored factors specific to residential characteristics. They also often presume that households consume similar amounts of energy and electricity. To fill these gaps in literature, the authors investigate two research questions: (RQ1) Does a data mining approach outperform traditional statistical approaches for modelling residential energy consumption? (RQ2) What factors influence household energy consumption? They identify household clusters to explore the underlying factors central to understanding electricity consumption behavior. Different clusters carry specific contextual nuances needed for fully understanding consumption behavior. The findings indicate electricity can be distributed according to the needs of six distinct clusters and that utilities can use analytics to identify load profiles for greater energy efficiency.

scholarly journals Psychological factors influence on energy efficiency in households

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaneta Simanaviciene ◽  
Dirma Virgilijus ◽  
Arturas Simanavicius
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Electrical Equipment ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Psychological Indicators ◽  
The Right

Research background: Most of the studies and their authors focus on the social and eco-nomic impacts of energy-saving behavior. However, they do not focus on the psychological factors affecting the efficiency of energy consumption in households. Lithuania has a lack of a unified and justified opinion on psychological factors that affect the energy efficiency of households. Purpose of the article: The main objective of the article is to identify the psychological factors that influence energy efficiency in households and to identify the appropriate measures to change the individual’s energy consumption behavior. Methods: The article was based on analysis of scientific literature and expert evaluation, when experts selected the most influencing psychological factors. Expert valuation allowed to set the right conditions in which individuals are more easily assimilated by means of energy saving. Findings: In most cases, economic and technological factors significantly influence household energy consumption. Increased energy-efficient equipment production and supply is causing an energy consumption growth in households, because they are more inclined to buy and use more efficient electrical equipment. An investigation has showed that the energy consumption is strongly influenced by some cultural and psychological factors: with greater public openness to innovation, the households tend to use energy more efficiently. Also, some psychological indicators have significant impact on energy consumption has — frequently the more pronounced neuroticism or extraversion rate. Since the research was performed only in Lithuania, in the future it will seek to carry out an investigation in several countries and to compare a various factors on the proposed measures and the efficiency of household energy consumption.

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