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A Top-Down Economic Efficiency Analysis of U.S. Household Energy Consumption

Abstract:
This study analyzes the efficiency of household-level energy consumption using a rich microdata set of homes within the United States. We measure efficiency by extending a cost-minimization model that treats the total amount of energy services produced as latent or unobserved due to technological differences in household consumption. The empirical strategy consists of applying latent class modeling to cost frontier analysis, which helps to identify heterogeneous subsets of units that require the fewest energy resources. Our estimates of efficient units form an empirical cost frontier of best practices within each subset. In order to understand the determinants of household-level energy efficiency, we condition the cost frontier analysis on numerous physical, climate-related, and socio-economic characteristics of the household. We find that state-level energy building code regulations, on average, induce a one-to-four percent marginal increase in household energy consumption.

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Energy Specializations: Energy Efficiency – Residential and Commercial Buildings; Energy Efficiency –  Policy Issues

JEL Codes: Q41: Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices, Q40: Energy: General

Keywords: Energy efficiency, energy rebound effect, household energy consumption

DOI: 10.5547/01956574.39.4.jbur

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Published in Volume 39, Number 4 of the bi-monthly journal of the IAEE's Energy Economics Education Foundation.

 

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