Residential energy expenditures and the relevance of changes in household circumstances

• We use a large panel of UK individuals and households.
• We analyse per-capita energy expenditure and how it changes over time.
• Socio-economic characteristics and environmental behaviours have small impacts.
• The most important determinants are accommodation and household size.
• Policies influencing family size may have large effects on the carbon footprint.

This paper analyses the impact that dwelling characteristics and characteristics and behaviours of household members have on per capita energy expenditures. It also analyses whether changes in household socio-economic circumstances translate in changes in energy expenditures. Socio-economic characteristics have a moderate impact, while dwelling characteristics and especially household size have much larger impacts. The largest changes in energy expenditures are due to changes in household size.The recent socio-demographic trends will make it harder to design policies to effectively reduce the carbon footprint of a country, while policies influencing cohabitation and family size may have positive indirect effects.