Electricity Demand in European Households: Major Findings from an Extensive End-Use Metering Project in Four Individual Countries

摘要

The EURECO project monitored electricity consumption of major end uses in 100 households in each of four European countries: Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Greece. This exceptionally detailed data set allows for comparative analysis of energy use among countries and illustrates the value of end-use metering for understanding load curves and assessing the potential for electricity conservation in the residential sector. Findings from this study's data analysis include: a combined refrigerator-freezer in a Greek kitchen consumes on average 40 percent more electricity than one in a Danish kitchen; standby power losses from domestic electronic equipment in all four countries are much more significant than expected; and dishwasher energy consumption is the figure that varies most among the four countries. Lighting was monitored in particular detail; individual lighting fixtures were monitored in each room of each house. The lighting data reveal a wide range of information, especially about the contribution of the most heavily used lighting fixtures to lighting energy consumption. This study demonstrates, among other conclusions, that installation of the most energy-efficient appliances can help reduce total peak power use by a factor of up to two in most cases and that the greatest potential for energy savings would come from reducing standby power losses; the potential savings are equal to those from installation of more energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers. This paper presents a small sample of the major findings of this unique, comprehensive disaggregation of electricity consumption in European households.