IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v112y2016icp742-754.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Defining geographical boundaries with social and technical variables to improve urban energy assessments

Author

Listed:
  • Reyna, Janet L.
  • Chester, Mikhail V.
  • Rey, Sergio J.

Abstract

Within residential electricity consumption there exists significant variability from home-to-home due to the differences in building thermal properties, appliances, and inhabitants. Electricity analyses at sub-city scales using predefined geographies, such census tracts, might artificially split areas with homogenous characteristics leading to analyses that don't effectively contrast the drivers of energy use. The objective of this study is to use the spatial relationships between demographics, building types, and electricity consumption to form new geographies with less variability for use in residential energy assessment. Using Los Angeles and New York City as case studies, differences in energy use variability within predefined geographies (e.g., census tract) are compared to geographies defined by clustering on socio-technical characteristics. Socio-technical clustering, regardless of the chosen subset of variables, reduces the energy consumption variability over pre-defined geopolitical boundaries with high statistical significance (p<<0.0001). By clustering, intra-regional variability is reduced by 13% in Los Angeles and 29% in New York, therefore improving opportunities for prediction and forecasting. This is the first study to examine the role of spatial boundaries in urban energy assessment. The creation of socio-technical geographies for electricity assessment creates opportunities for improving predictions and forecasts for future sub- and cross-city energy studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Reyna, Janet L. & Chester, Mikhail V. & Rey, Sergio J., 2016. "Defining geographical boundaries with social and technical variables to improve urban energy assessments," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 742-754.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:112:y:2016:i:c:p:742-754
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.06.091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544216308659
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2016.06.091?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tso, Geoffrey K.F. & Yau, Kelvin K.W., 2007. "Predicting electricity energy consumption: A comparison of regression analysis, decision tree and neural networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1761-1768.
    2. Lucas W. Davis, 2011. "Evaluating the Slow Adoption of Energy Efficient Investments: Are Renters Less Likely to Have Energy Efficient Appliances?," NBER Chapters, in: The Design and Implementation of US Climate Policy, pages 301-316, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Juan C. Duque & Luc Anselin & Sergio J. Rey, 2012. "The Max-P-Regions Problem," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 397-419, August.
    4. Sanquist, Thomas F. & Orr, Heather & Shui, Bin & Bittner, Alvah C., 2012. "Lifestyle factors in U.S. residential electricity consumption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 354-364.
    5. Longstreth, Molly & Topliff, Michael, 1990. "Determinants of energy savings and increases after installing energy-conserving devices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 523-537.
    6. Sergio Rey & Myrna Sastré-Gutiérrez, 2010. "Interregional Inequality Dynamics in Mexico," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 277-298.
    7. Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn, 2011. "Electricity Consumption and Durable Housing: Understanding Cohort Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 88-92, May.
    8. Kavousian, Amir & Rajagopal, Ram & Fischer, Martin, 2013. "Determinants of residential electricity consumption: Using smart meter data to examine the effect of climate, building characteristics, appliance stock, and occupants' behavior," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 184-194.
    9. Lariviere, Isabelle & Lafrance, Gaetan, 1999. "Modelling the electricity consumption of cities: effect of urban density," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 53-66, February.
    10. Chan, A.L.S., 2015. "Investigation on the appropriate floor level of residential building for installing balcony, from a view point of energy and environmental performance. A case study in subtropical Hong Kong," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 620-634.
    11. Stephan, André & Stephan, Laurent, 2014. "Reducing the total life cycle energy demand of recent residential buildings in Lebanon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 618-637.
    12. Caputo, Paola & Costa, Gaia & Ferrari, Simone, 2013. "A supporting method for defining energy strategies in the building sector at urban scale," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 261-270.
    13. Anderson, John E. & Wulfhorst, Gebhard & Lang, Werner, 2015. "Energy analysis of the built environment—A review and outlook," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 149-158.
    14. Tso, Geoffrey K.F. & Guan, Jingjing, 2014. "A multilevel regression approach to understand effects of environment indicators and household features on residential energy consumption," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 722-731.
    15. Brounen, Dirk & Kok, Nils & Quigley, John M., 2012. "Residential energy use and conservation: Economics and demographics," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 931-945.
    16. Brounen, Dirk & Kok, Nils & Quigley, John M., 2013. "Energy literacy, awareness, and conservation behavior of residential households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 42-50.
    17. repec:asg:wpaper:1028 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Florides, G. A. & Tassou, S. A. & Kalogirou, S. A. & Wrobel, L. C., 2002. "Measures used to lower building energy consumption and their cost effectiveness," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(3-4), pages 299-328, November.
    19. Peter C. Reiss & Matthew W. White, 2005. "Household Electricity Demand, Revisited," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(3), pages 853-883.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Satre-Meloy, Aven, 2019. "Investigating structural and occupant drivers of annual residential electricity consumption using regularization in regression models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 148-168.
    2. Jones, Rory V. & Fuertes, Alba & Lomas, Kevin J., 2015. "The socio-economic, dwelling and appliance related factors affecting electricity consumption in domestic buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 901-917.
    3. Tilov, Ivan & Farsi, Mehdi & Volland, Benjamin, 2020. "From frugal Jane to wasteful John: A quantile regression analysis of Swiss households’ electricity demand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Ohler, Adrienne M. & Loomis, David G. & Ilves, Kadi, 2020. "A study of electricity savings from energy star appliances using household survey data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Chalal, Moulay Larbi & Benachir, Medjdoub & White, Michael & Shahtahmassebi, Golnaz & Cumberbatch, Miranda & Shrahily, Raid, 2017. "The impact of the UK household life-cycle transitions on the electricity and gas usage patterns," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 505-518.
    6. Cansino, José M. & Dugo, Víctor & Gálvez-Ruiz, David & Román-Collado, Rocío, 2023. "What drove electricity consumption in the residential sector during the SARS-CoV-2 confinement? A special focus on university students in southern Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    7. Boukarta Soufiane & Berezowska-Azzag Ewa, 2018. "Assessing Households’ Gas and Electricity Consumption: A Case Study of Djelfa, Algeria," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 37(4), pages 111-129, December.
    8. Estiri, Hossein & Zagheni, Emilio, 2018. "Evaluating the Age-Energy Consumption Profile in Residential Buildings," SocArXiv yqkva, Center for Open Science.
    9. Javier Bueno & Desiderio Romero-Jordán & Pablo del Río, 2020. "Analysing the Drivers of Electricity Demand in Spain after the Economic Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    10. Chen, Guangwu & Zhu, Yuhan & Wiedmann, Thomas & Yao, Lina & Xu, Lixiao & Wang, Yafei, 2019. "Urban-rural disparities of household energy requirements and influence factors in China: Classification tree models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1321-1335.
    11. Chen, Chien-fei & Xu, Xiaojing & Adua, Lazarus & Briggs, Morgan & Nelson, Hannah, 2022. "Exploring the factors that influence energy use intensity across low-, middle-, and high-income households in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    12. Khosrowpour, Ardalan & Xie, Yimeng & Taylor, John E. & Hong, Yili, 2016. "One size does not fit all: Establishing the need for targeted eco-feedback," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 523-530.
    13. Su, Yu-Wen, 2019. "Residential electricity demand in Taiwan: Consumption behavior and rebound effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 36-45.
    14. Kahn, Matthew E. & Walsh, Randall, 2015. "Cities and the Environment," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 405-465, Elsevier.
    15. Wallis, Hannah & Nachreiner, Malte & Matthies, Ellen, 2016. "Adolescents and electricity consumption; Investigating sociodemographic, economic, and behavioural influences on electricity consumption in households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 224-234.
    16. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Palmer, Charles & Pinchbeck, Edward W., 2019. "The energy costs of historic preservation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    17. Dimitra Kotsila & Persefoni Polychronidou, 2021. "Determinants of household electricity consumption in Greece: a statistical analysis," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, December.
    18. Salari, Mahmoud & Javid, Roxana J., 2017. "Modeling household energy expenditure in the United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 822-832.
    19. Guo, Peiyang & Lam, Jacqueline C.K. & Li, Victor O.K., 2019. "Drivers of domestic electricity users’ price responsiveness: A novel machine learning approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 900-913.
    20. Yu, Miao & Zhao, Xintong & Gao, Yuning, 2019. "Factor decomposition of China’s industrial electricity consumption using structural decomposition analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 67-76.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:112:y:2016:i:c:p:742-754. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.