The direct and indirect energy requirements of households in the Netherlands

Abstract

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%).