Residential Energy Use Scenarios
Summary
The energy services demanded within the residential sector are diverse. As households get richer the evolution of their energy use is two-fold: the service the energy provides, and the energy carrier used. These dimensions are studied together in order to achieve a holistic understanding of the effect of the residential sector in the joint climate and development problems. We developed a stylized bottom up system dynamic residential energy use model in order to analyze how energy use of households develops and the corresponding use of fuels which are used in order to meet this demand. The model furthermore disaggregates between urban and rural households as well as income quintiles within these two classes. Subsequently the model was used in order to analyze possible future developments of residential energy demand in five developing world regions: India, China, Pacific Asia, South Africa and Brazil. The future storylines are based on the possibility of efficiency improvement, changes in income inequality, introduction of climate policy, and financial aid in order to promote the use of cleaner fuels.