Aggregate Household Behavior in Heating and Cooling Control Strategy and Energy-Efficient Appliance Adoption

Using nationally representative household survey data administered by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in this article, we attempt to analyze the aggregate behavior of households in terms of usage of appliances with explicit temperature control mechanism and the adoption of energy-efficient variants of other appliances. A multivariate probit analysis suggests that the households with larger size, higher income, and higher level of education are more likely to use smart thermostat to control temperature and purchase energy-efficient appliances. To identify the broad classes of household behavior, latent class analysis specifications are used. The optimal specification indicates that there are four broad classes of households. Consistent with the results of the multivariate probit specification, we find that the increased odds of belonging to the smart thermostat/energy-efficient appliance owner category of households over the no control/no energy-efficient appliance owner are related to variables, such as household type, size, and income. Therefore, targeting renters, apartment dwellers, and lower income households through appropriate household incentives and residential regulations are likely to improve outcomes in the adoption of efficient appliances and temperature control strategies.

I. Introduction

Energy efficiency has long been considered to be one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1], particularly in the residential sector that was responsible for around 20% of the total energy consumption in 2017 [2]. The residential sector has long been targets of policies and incentives to promote energy efficiency [3]. These include policies identifying appliances that would reduce long-term electricity consumption and reduce the payback period of purchasing these appliances through financial incentives [4]. These appliances are termed as energy-efficient appliances. Once a consumer purchases such an appliance, their energy usage behavior plays a significant role in determining the actual energy savings [5]. Electricity consumption, in general, is influenced by a myriad of other factors [6], such as the physical characteristics of the dwelling, including the type of building, house size, and house age; and demographic characteristics of the occupants including income, race, gender, age distribution, and level of education. The distinction between appliances that are “always on” and those that operate in accordance with differing occupant behavior patterns is also important. There exists a fair bit of research on the linkage between the occupant behavior and energy efficiency. Kavousian et al. [6] note that households who tend to buy energy-efficient appliances are generally those with the higher levels of consumption and tend to be wealthier. Income is considered a potential factor for both higher level of consumption and the ability to buy higher priced energy-efficient appliances. A metastudy by Karlin et al. [7] demonstrates two strong behavioral dimensions—curtailment and efficiency, with curtailment measures being easier to adopt but less effective on a longer time horizon compared with the efficiency measures.