Household consumption of electricity in Brazil between 1985 and 2013

This article describes the electricity consumption in Brazilian residences between 1985 and 2013 through linear regressions. The explanatory variables considered were the number of households, effective consumption of families as a proxy for family income, and electricity tariff for households. To deal with the power generation crisis of 2001 we have introduced a dummy variable in the form of a step function. With such explanatory variables, we were able to account for the reduction of household electricity consumption caused by the policies conducted in 2001 and their permanent consequences. The regression presented coefficient of determination of 0.9892, and the several statistic tests conducted assured the existence of long-term relation between the electricity consumption in residences and the explanatory variables. The obtained elasticities for the household consumption of electricity with respect to number of residences, family income and residential tariff of electricity were 1.534±0.095, 0.189±0.049, and −0.230±0.060, respectively. These results allowed understanding the evolution over time of the household consumption of electricity in Brazil. They suggest that the electric sector in Brazil should pursue an active policy to manage demand of residential electricity using tariffs as a means to control it.     

Analysing socioeconomic diversity and scaling effects on residential electricity load profiles in the context of low carbon technology uptake

Adequately accounting for interactions between Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) at the building level and the overarching energy system means capturing the granularity associated with decentralised heat and power supply in residential buildings. The approach presented here adds novelty in terms of a realistic socioeconomic differentiation by employing dwelling/household archetypes (DHAs) and neighbourhood clusters at the Output Area (OA) level. These archetypes are combined with a mixed integer linear program (MILP) to generate optimum (minimum cost) technology configurations and operation schedules. Even in the baseline case, without any LCT penetration, a substantial deviation from the standard load profile (SLP) is encountered, suggesting that for some neighbourhoods this profile is not appropriate. With the application of LCTs, including heat pumps, micro-CHP and photovoltaic (PV), this effect is much stronger, including more negative residual load, more variability, and higher ramps with increased LCT penetration, and crucially different between neighbourhood clusters. The main policy implication of the study is the importance of understanding electrical load profiles at the neighbourhood level, because of the consequences they have for investment in the overarching energy system, including transmission and distribution infrastructure, and centralised generation plant. Further work should focus on attaining a superior socioeconomic differentiation between households.     

The public–private divide in household behavior: How far into home can energy guidance reach?

Environmental problems in the energy system often originate from everyday activities and choices. Everyday activities in the home are part of the private sphere that can be contested in relation to energy policies. This article discusses the public–private divide in energy policies and how Swedish municipal energy consultants understand the divide. By analyzing the actions of energy consultants and their efforts to influence households, as well as how households perceive this guidance, I will discuss the public–private discourse in relation to energy policy and how this discourse can be a restriction for the energy consultants to reach their full potential.     

Household energy conservation and locus of control: A research note

Five hypotheses were tested to investigate whether personality is a factor in household energy conservation beliefs and actions. Locus of control, the personality measure which distinguishes between individuals designated as internals or externals, was assessed in a survey of 383 households in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The results indicate that only one hypothesis—obtaining information on energy issues from the media is a positive function of internality—reached significance, and one other hypothesis tended toward significance. We conclude that locus of control is a limited predictor of household energy conservation beliefs and actions, and recommend that energy conservation programme planners consider persuading externals to behave more internally.     

Lifestyles and the city: connecting daily life to urbanity

Urban households are part of what makes a city a city: economically, because of their labour market participation and use of urban facilities; and socially, because of their participation in public life. In turn, these urban households profit from what the city has to offer. In this paper, a household typology is constructed according to type and extent of ‘urban connectedness’. Urban connectedness is not identified as people’s stated preference but rather as people’s revealed relationship with the urban society through their residential choices. Subsequently, the urban orientation of these household types is explored. Empirical data are obtained for the city of Amsterdam.     

The effects of the energy price reform on households consumption in Iran

The substantial subsidizing of energy prices over the years has led to high energy consumption, inefficiencies, fiscal pressures, and environmental problems in Iran. To address the increasing socio-economic problems associated with the energy subsidies, the government embarked on an aggressive energy price reform through which energy subsidies were removed and cash handouts were given to all households in 2010. In this paper, I analyze the effectiveness of the energy price reform in Iran by estimating energy demand elasticities for households in different income groups. I apply a two-stage consumer optimization model and estimate the system of energy expenditures shares using the household budget survey data for the period 2001–2008. The results show that the overall price elasticities of demand are small, but income elasticities are close to one. The results also indicate heterogeneous responses to energy price and income changes in different income groups. Specifically, the urban households show stronger response to price changes, but rural households, particularly mid-income households, to income changes. These findings suggest that the current policy of price increases would not solely be able to reduce energy consumption and, therefore, it should be geared towards increasing energy efficiency through a series of price and non-price measures.     

The Timing of Household Events and Housing Events in the Netherlands: A Longitudinal Perspective

Research on the relationship between household events and housing events so far has largely ignored the role of timing. This study aims to uncover in what way the postponement of marriage and childbirth that took place in the second half of the 20th century in the Netherlands affected the timing of moving into 'long-stay housing' (single-family dwellings and owner occupied dwellings). This is done by analysing time lags between household events and housing events. Survival analysis shows that over cohorts, moving into long-stay housing happens consistently earlier, and increasingly frequently before first childbirth. This finding is most likely attributable to the increased economic prosperity and increased availability of long-stay housing. This allows young people to adjust their housing to the household situation they anticipate, rather than to wait until they actually experience the household event. However, this does not hold for single home leavers: they move into long-stay housing neither earlier, nor much more often over time. It is concluded that the level of commitment in the household situation is the fundamental explanation for housing choice, and that economic prosperity mainly facilitates advancement in the timing of adapting the housing situation to the (anticipated) household situation.     

Socio-economic hurdles to widespread adoption of small-scale biogas digesters in Sub-Saharan Africa: A review

The unsustainable use of fossil fuels has led to increased awareness and widespread research on the accessibility of renewable energy resources such as biogas. Biogas is a methane rich gas that is produced by anaerobic fermentation of organic material. Despite its potential to replace biomass in Africa, where over 70% of the households use wood fuel and agricultural waste for cooking, biogas technology has not been adopted by Sub-Saharan African countries compared to their Asian counterparts. This paper examines the socioeconomic constraints to adoption of biogas in Sub-Saharan Africa and explores factors that could enhance adoption of the technology. These include standardization and quality control, as well as an approach of integrated farming using biogas and slurry. The article recommends mobilization of local and external funds to promote biogas, use of ready to use funds such as the Clean Development Mechanisms in overcoming the initial construction costs of biogas units, and formation of user and disseminator associations to reduce costs by joint procurement and linkage to finance. It further advocates the promotion of multiple uses of biogas for purposes other than cooking and lighting. It is expected that widespread adoption of the technology could lead to self-sufficiency in household energy provision for cooking. This would facilitate environmental management and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa.     

Analysis of household access to drinking water,sanitation, and waste disposal services in urban areas of Nepal

In recent years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the provision of access to clean and sufficient drinking water, sanitation facilities, and proper waste management in developing countries. This paper examines household access to these services in urban areas of Nepal by studying the comprehensive data of the Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS) for the 1995-1996, 2003–2004, and 2010–2011 periods. Multinomial logit models are employed to identify and analyse potentially influential factors. We find that education levels, household wealth, and distance to markets are among the significant determinants of household access to safe and secure drinking water, flush toilets connected to septic tanks, and proper liquid and solid waste disposal. Households located in relatively developed regions, such as the Midwest and Far West, tend to have better access to these services compared to households located in the ecologically sensitive mountainous regions. Education and employment opportunities are also relevant to service access in urban areas of Nepal. Stakeholder involvement and effective governmental intervention are also necessary.