Behavioral patterns and profiles of electricity consumption in dutch dwellings: Fid-Bau Portal

Behavioral patterns and profiles of electricity consumption in dutch dwellings

Bedir, Merve / Kara, Emre C.

Highlights•Most households in the Netherlands prefer preparing quick meals and cooking with preserved food.•The use of dryer, washing machine, and dishwasher affect dwelling electricity consumption significantly.•Household composition is a crucial determinant of behavioral profiles regarding electricity consumption.•More research is needed on the use of battery charged, cleaning, ICE appliances in the Netherlands.

AbstractIn EU member states, the consumption of electricity per dwelling has remained more or less constant, although the consumption of large appliances has decreased considerably in the last 2 decades. This stabilization is caused by the increased ownership, usage and consumption levels of Information, Communication and Entertainment (ICE) appliances. This paper aims to analyze electrical appliance use in the Dutch housing stock, and identify behavioral patterns and profiles of electricity consumption. The analysis is conducted by applying descriptive, correlation, and exploratory factor analyses on data collected from 323 dwellings in two neighborhoods in the Netherlands. Our results show that behavioral patterns could be found based on actual occupant behavior of lighting and appliance use, especially depending on household activities like cooking, (personal) cleaning, etc. Behavioral profiles could be determined based on household and dwelling characteristics, i.e. household size, income, education, dwelling type, age, hours of working outside. The 4 profiles set up in this research are explained as ‘family,’‘ techie,’ ‘comforty,’ and ‘conscious.’ These profiles showed statistically significantly differences in terms of their electricity consumption levels.