The German Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2005
Extensive Summary for Research Project No. 15/06 by order of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
The aim of this study is to estimate the energy consumption of German households in 2005. A nation-wide survey of 6,533 house-holds serves as the starting point to determine the consumption of various fuels, including from private car-usage. In addition to energy consumption, home owners were surveyed with respect to home renovation activities. In recognition of the increasing importance of renewable energies, computer assisted telephone interviews among some 80,000 households were additionally conducted. The aim was to gain reliable insights into the distribution of heat pumps, wood pellets, photovoltaics, and solar heat panels in Germany. To gauge the reliability of the findings, an evaluation of the survey data quality was undertaken. The survey responses pro-vided by a sub-sample of the panel households was cross-checked by contacting the respective utilities for information regarding the households’ electricity and district heating consumption.