Effects of Improved Consumer Behavior on Energy Conservation in the Urban Residential Sector of Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Consumer behavior is one of the most important issues with respect to household energy consumption. This paper will evaluate the energy-saving potential of improving consumer behavior on the basis of a field study. In the original survey plan, the monthly electricity use of households in three typical residential buildings in the city of Hangzhou, China, were monitored from April 2007 to July 2008. A total of 124 households in those buildings were selected as the subject households. Half of them were informed of 34 energy-saving measures before July 2008 to teach them how to improve their behavior and control electric appliances in their daily lives. Finally, a questionnaire survey was administered in the beginning of August 2008 to identify the changes in the occupants' behavior. Based on the comparison analyses among the differences in the electricity uses of the 71 remaining valid samples, the conclusions can be drawn that: (1) residential electricity use will increase continually in the near future in China due to improved standards of living and a greater dependency on electric appliances, and (2) more than 10% of household electricity use can be conserved by informing occupants of energy-saving measures to improve their behavior.