The determinants of domestic energy consumption in France: Energy modes, habitat, households and life cycles

This article explores the question of domestic energy consumption. It concentrates on the example of France and using micro-data from the 2002 and 2006 National Housing Surveys conducted by INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). The empirical analysis is divided into three stages: the first verifies the correspondences between modes of energy consumption, household profiles and housing profiles, in order to classify consumer mode types; the second looks at the stabilities and variations over time of each of these types; the last seeks to identify the causes of these changes. The findings reveal sharp divergences between the factors affecting global consumption, consumption per m2 and per person. These variations can be explained by the impact of the demographic characteristics of households, residential mobility and life cycles. Therefore, these findings demonstrate the flexibility over time of domestic energy consumption, which is still too often approached as a static variable solely associated with building characteristics. They need to be taken further through a longitudinal and multidisciplinary approach to energy consumption patterns.