Regional-level household energy consumption determinants: The european perspective

Starting from the assumption that household energy use is manifold and intertwined, shaped by many factors which overlap not only at the individual level, but also at a higher level of scales, the paper developed a more integrated approach to its determinants. To assess them and also to find out whether there is a difference between regional-level factors that determine it universally, and those that are context-dependent, the static and dynamic panel analyses were employed in 64 European regions over the period from 2005 to 2013. Our findings suggest that there are common energy consumption determinants and those ones that are dependent on the regions' level of development. While the sign of the impact of the former is the same across regions, the impact of the latter may differ, depending on the character of the energy policy measures applied. Findings also suggest that energy policy authorities have opportunities to develop and encourage energy efficiency and sustainable use of energy of the household sector by creating regional-specific demand-side energy efficiency programs and measures as well as user practices in relation to technology.