Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/148555 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research No. 877
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
Space heating and hot water expenditures make up the majority of household energy demand in Germany, at 83.2%, making them an attractive target for energy policies. Using a panel dataset derived from yearly residential household surveys covering the years 1996 to 2014, we identify the determinants of heating expenditures for German households. We discover significant heterogeneity in expenditures depending on socioeconomic variables. For the full sample, we find a price elasticity of heating expenditures of 0.629. Elasticities vary significantly between individual groups, with values ranging from 0.523 to 0.716. Furthermore, a large number of technical and socio-demographic factors are significant in determining energy use. Our findings have implications for evaluating the effectiveness of policy measures that aim at influencing energy use across different groups of consumers.
Subjects: 
Germany
Heating demand
Heating expenditures
Heterogeneity
Space heating
JEL: 
C23
D12
Q41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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