Impact of the rise of solo living and an ageing population on residential energy consumption in South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110023
Author(s):  
Seong-Hoon Cho ◽  
Moonwon Soh ◽  
Kihyun Park ◽  
Hyun Jae Kim
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Energy Intensity ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Unit Energy ◽  
Single Person ◽  
Elderly Households

Demographic changes have a profound impact on residential energy consumption. The number of single-person households is rapidly increasing around the world and the percentages of elderly individuals in the populations of almost all countries are expanding. The objective of our research was to analyze how single-person households and elderly households impact residential energy intensity, defined as annual residential energy consumption per capita per unit of finished area of the household’s house, and how those impacts interact with each other using South Korea as a case study. Our findings suggest that the rise of solo living and an ageing population have overlapping effects on energy consumption and threaten future improvements in residential energy intensity. Specifically, an increase of single-person households results in a decline in energy intensity regardless of whether the household is elderly or non-elderly and the effect of an increase in elderly households on energy intensity depends on whether the household is single- or multiple-person. Given the similar average size of finished area for single-person households, the difference in per unit energy consumption between elderly versus non-elderly households likely comes from behavioral differences such as a greater use of energy-intensive appliances by non-elderly households than elderly households. However, for multiple-person households, the effect of such behavioral differences seems to be dominated by the effect of a house’s shared amenities. The common space and energy-consuming amenities of a house are shared by more individuals in non-elderly households, leading to more intensive energy consumption by non-elderly multiple-person households than by elderly multiple-person households.

scholarly journals Exploring the Changing Gap of Residential Energy Consumption per Capita in China and the Netherlands: A Comparative Analysis of Driving Forces

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4634
Author(s):  
Hongguang Nie ◽  
René Kemp ◽  
Véronique Vasseur
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Energy Intensity ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
Per Capita

This paper brings out some remarkable differences between China as a developing country experiencing high economic growth and the Netherlands as a developed country by examining the driving forces behind the evolution of residential energy consumption per capita (RECpc) in the two countries in the period from 2001 to 2015. The components we analysed are income, energy-intensity, weather and energy-mix effects. The most remarkable result is the changing effect of energy intensity in China: during 2001–2007 energy intensity increased, and decreased afterward. The changes reflected changes in material circumstances: the shift to relative energy intensive goods and of saturation of energy demand for heating and cooling. In the Netherlands, the declining energy intensity, warmer winters and the more diversified energy mix decreased RECpc by 511.39, 58.81 and 1.08 kgce, respectively. Although the income growth both increased RECpc in the two countries, the relatively high-speed increasing income in China narrowed the RECpc gap between the two countries. This study implies that the opposite changes in RECpc in developing and developed countries are due to the different development stages reached by the countries. Policy suggestions are being offered to deal with the different circumstances, as revealed through this study.

scholarly journals Beyond the City: Effects of Urbanization on Rural Residential Energy Intensity and CO2 Emissions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiu Chen ◽  
Haoran Yang ◽  
Wenguo Wang ◽  
Tianbiao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Energy Intensity ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
The Impact

Trends of rural residential energy consumption and CO2 emission should be evaluated in a broader context of urbanization, especially in developing countries where urbanization is in its expanding stage. In this study, we use the STIRPAT model and various panel regression techniques to explore the impact of urbanization on rural residential energy consumption and CO2 emission by using data from Southwest China. The results show that a higher urbanization level contributes to higher total residential energy intensity. Increases in net income per capita can decrease the intensities of traditional biomass energy and non-biomass energy, while industrialization has a negative effect only on non-biomass energy intensity. Land use change driven by urbanization can also lower the intensities of total residential energy, traditional biomass energy and non-biomass energy. Moreover, the impact of total residential energy intensity on emissions is positive. Particularly, traditional biomass energy accounts for most of CO2 emissions derived from the use of residential energy. As urbanization is expected to increase in the developing world and lead to more CO2 emissions from rural areas, policies which intend to reduce the intensity of traditional biomass energy, promote biogas and industrialization, and raise net income of rural residents can be used as effective mitigation strategies.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Patterns and Influencing Mechanism of Urban Residential Energy Consumption in China

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3864
Author(s):  
Qiucheng Li ◽  
Jiang Hu ◽  
Bolin Yu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Theil Index ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
Index Method ◽  
Inequality Measures ◽  
Influencing Mechanism ◽  
Per Capita

The residential sector has become the second largest energy consumer in China. Urban residential energy consumption (URE) in China is growing rapidly in the process of urbanization. This paper aims to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution and influencing mechanism of URE in China. The spatiotemporal heterogeneity of URE during 2007–2018 is explored through Kernel density estimation and inequality measures (i.e., Gini coefficient, Theil index, and mean logarithmic deviation). Then, with several advantages over traditional index decomposition analysis approaches, the Generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) decomposition is employed to investigate the impacts of eight driving factors on URE. Furthermore, the national and provincial decoupling relationships between URE and residential income increase are studied. It is found that different provinces’ URE present a significant agglomeration effect; the interprovincial inequality in URE increases and then decreases during the study period. The GDIM decomposition results indicate the income effect is the main positive factor driving URE. Besides, urban population, residential area, per capita energy use, and per unit area energy consumption positively influence URE. By contrast, per capita income, energy intensity, and residential density have negative effects on URE. There is evidence that only three decoupling states, i.e., weak decoupling, strong decoupling, and expansive negative decoupling, appear in China during 2007–2018. Specifically, weak decoupling is the dominant state among different regions. Finally, some suggestions are given to speed up the construction of energy-saving cities and promote the decoupling process of residential energy consumption in China. This paper fills some research gaps in urban residential energy research and is important for China’s policymakers.

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