Historic trends in the residential sector

In the OECD countries, income-driven growth in equipment ownership (heating, appliances) and home size drove household energy use up, but higher energy prices and conservation programs had a restraining effect. The results were mixed, with consumption per capita significantly lower in a few countries (United States, France), but higher in others. There was a significant decline in the intensity of space heating (30-40%) and a small decline in the intensity of electric applicances. Changes in the size and features of many appliances offset much of the improvement in technical energy efficiency. Not all of the decline in heating intensity was a result of technical change; the author estimates that about 25% was caused by change in heating behavior. In all, there were significant improvements in efficiency, but these were offset somewhat by structural change. In the Former East Bloc, there is far less residential space and amenity than in OECD countries, and efficiency of space heating and water heating is low, in part due to lake of energy pricing. Electric appliances are simple and relatively inefficient. Unlike in the OECD countries, there is little sign of improved efficiency in the 1970s and 1980s. In the LDCs, patterns of energy use, and changes in them, are very different in rural and urban areas, and vary among regions as well. Biomass is still the dominant fuel in rural areas. In urban areas, Western-like patterns of electricity (and even gas) use have emerged for appliances, cooking, and water heating among the affluent, and TV and refrigerators have become more common among the less-affluent. In many countries, especially in Southeast Asia, there has been very rapid growth in ownership of appliances. Most appliances are cheaply made and inefficient compared to similar appliances sold in the OECD countries, though there are signs of some improvement in the past decade. 16 refs., 11 figs., 9 figs