The German Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2011-2013
Extended Abstract for Research Project No. 54/09 commissioned by Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
August 2015
This study aims to estimate the energy consumption of German private households for the years 2011 to 2013. A nation-wide survey among more than 8,500 households serves as a starting point to determine the consumption of electricity and various fuels for residential heating purposes and due to private car usage. Apart from providing socio-economic information, responding households were interviewed with respect to their housing conditions, dwelling characteristics and the consumption of fossil fuels, electricity and renewable energy sources. In order to derive consumption figures for the total of private households in Germany, the sample estimates of each energy source were extrapolated. Our results will be compared with those of 2010 that are extract-ed from the preceding study performed by RWI and forsa (2013). As these are based on the same interview tool and panel of households, they should be well-suited for comparison purposes. Moreover, the results will be compared to the values of the German energy balances (AGEB). In comparison to the preceding studies completed by RWI and forsa (2008, 2010, 2013) the sample was extended by about 2,000 households succeeding in a higher statistical precision of our estimates. Beyond estimating consumption figures, this study analyzes the resulting residential energy costs for 2012.