For an effective consumer energy policy, it is important to know why some households require more energy than others. The aim of the study described here was to examine whether there is a relationship between the total household energy requirement, on one hand, and value patterns, the motivation to save energy or the problem perception of climate change, on the other. To examine these relationships, we held a consumer survey among 2304 respondent households. We did not find significant differences in the energy requirement of groups of households with different value patterns, taking into account the differences in the socio-economic situation of households. Only for the 'motivation to save energy' we did find that the least motivated group requires 10 GJ more energy than the average and most motivated groups; this is about 4% of the total household energy requirement. This means that a self-regulating energy policy, solely based on the fact that a strategy of internalising environmental responsibility will not be effective in saving energy. There are indications that a social dilemma is one of the reasons why people's consumption patterns do not conform to their value patterns, problem perception or motivation to save energy.

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In this article we evaluate the average energy requirement of households in 11 EU member states. By investigating both the direct (electricity, natural gas, gasoline, etc.) and the indirect energy requirement, i.e. the energy embodied in consumer goods and services, we add to research done on only the direct household energy requirement. Our analysis is mainly based on data of expenditures of households and the associated energy intensities of consumer goods. We found that differences between countries in the total energy requirement of households are mainly due to differences in total household expenditure. In particular, the indirect energy requirement is linearly related to the total household expenditure. The share of direct energy to the total energy requirement in different countries varies from 34% up to 64%. Differences in climate do not fully account for this variation. Corrected for total household expenditure, indirect energy requirement may vary significantly per country in the consumption classes 'food, beverages and tobacco', 'recreation and culture', 'housing', and 'hotels, cafes and restaurants'.

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Dematerialisation is assumed to contribute significantly to the alleviation of environmental problems. One of the possible causes of dematerialisation is a change in the consumption patterns of households. The aim of this article is to analyse changes consumption patterns of Dutch households in the period between 1948 to 1996 in order to discover whether these changes haven influenced the energy intensity of society. Due to the rise in consumption, the total household energy requirement per capita grew on average by 2.4% per year over a period of 48 years (this figure ignores efficiency changes in the supplying sectors). In the same period the total energy intensity of households fluctuated but on average changed from 5.6 to 6.3 MJ/NLG, an increase of 0.25% per year. If we exclude the direct energy consumption we find a slight decline in the indirect energy intensity, namely from 3.8 to 3.6 MJ/NLG (-0.14% per year). No significant trends to a lower energy intensity are found and there is no indication of dematerialisation of the consumption patterns. If governments pursue a policy of sustainable development they have to take into account the fact that dematerialisation of the consumption pattern does not seem to be an autonomous process.@en

Like all consumer products, cut flowers require energy during their life cycle. The aim of this article is to examine how households can reduce their primary energy requirement for the decorative and gift functions provided so far by cut flowers without reducing their consumption level, also taking into account the financial cost. In 1990, an average Dutch household purchased 11 times one or more bouquets containing a total of about 250 flowers for Dfl. 170, which require together about 2.2 GJ, 1% of the total primary household energy requirement. The energy intensity of flowers is among the highest of all non-energy household purchases: on average 12.9 MJ/Dfl. The high energy requirement of cut flowers makes it interesting to take a closer at less energy-intensive alternatives, like replacing flowers as a gift with other presents, making more use of flowering indoor plants and selecting less energy-intensive flower (from abroad, other species, other seasons). The calculations suggest that if all the energy reduction options discussed here are applied to a substantial extent, the cumulative energy required for flowers purchased by an average Dutch household can be halved. More research is needed to investigate the acceptance of the proposed measures and the feasibility of a combination of measures.@en

The aim of the Lifestyle project is to analyse the CO 2 emission reduction potential of lifestyle change. The analysis is carried out by examining the direct and the indirect energy contents of the average Dutch household consumption. An overview of the past developments of Dutch sector energy intensities is produced and its consequences for the average household energy requirement are studied. Also differences in energy requirement related to differences in lifestyle are assessed. Calculations of the Dutch household expenditure survey has resulted in an overview of the energy requirement per income and spending subcategory. The correlations between some relevant household factors are determined and discussed. #Harry Wilting, Wouter Biesiot and Henk Moll, Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies (IVEM) University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands@en

One way of reducing CO2 emissions is to reduce direct and indirect household energy requirements. Before discussing ways in which that can be done, one needs to have quantitative information about these energy requirements. This article aims to provide that information. The total average energy demand per household in the Netherlands in 1990 was 240 GJ, of which 54% was indirect. Of this total average energy requirement 17% was required for food, 8% for household effects, 4% for the house, 3% for clothing and footwear, 2% for hygiene, 5% for medical care, 2% for education, 8% for recreation, 1% for communication, 4% for transport (excluding petrol), 9% for petrol, 25% for heating energy and 12% for electricity. There is a strong relationship between household expenditure and the total energy requirement. The elasticity of the energy requirement with respect to income was found to be 0.63. There is, however, a considerable spread in energy requirement within one income class (standard deviation about 20%).@en

An accurate and fast method is presented for calculating the energy requirement of consumption items. The method combines process analysis and input-output analysis. The energy requirement of a particular consumption item is calculated in ten steps, each dealing with certain parts of the production network. Each step can be standardized to a large extent. The method is illustrated by applying it to one product: a domestic refrigerator.@en