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A two-century analysis of household energy transitions in Europe and the United States: From the Swiss Alps to Wisconsin

2019; Elsevier BV; Volume: 54; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.erss.2019.03.009

2214-6326

W.K. Foell,

Energy and Environment Impacts

This research analyzes residential energy systems of five generations of the Hari family, ranging from the Johannes Hari home in Kandersteg, Switzerland (1800) to my home in Madison, Wisconsin, United States (1970–2014). The overall objective was to help illuminate specific behavioral, technological, and economic factors reflected in results from highly aggregated long-term historical studies of residential energy transitions. Technical data were derived from diverse databases including site visits, physical characteristics, archives and literature, statistical sources, and family/community oral histories. Analysis included quantitatively modeled estimates of end-use energy for each consumption technology, a technique denoted here as "retrospective bottom-up simulation". Although the sample of five homes is clearly inadequate to derive comprehensive truisms about the long-term transitions of residential energy systems, temporal and spatial differences in the five houses provided explicit descriptions of technical and economic factors leading to the transitions, as well as insight into the accompanying human behavioral changes. In agreement with global trends, the houses experienced transitions from wood to coal, natural gas, and in recent years a significant return to renewables. An energy rebound effect was observed as land, resources and energy become more readily available and convenient. Energy dramatically decreased its share of expenditures in the three United States households, consistent with technology improvements and stability or decrease of energy prices, relative to the Consumer Price Index. Many residential end-use energy services evolved more rapidly than supply-side technologies. The analysis revealed a long-term decarbonization of the energy systems.