Energy Consumption and Cost for Rural and Urban Residents: Case Study of Three Chinese Provinces

Abstract

A survey of 1,244 households in three representative Chinese provinces was undertaken to assess energy consumption and cost for rural and urban residents. After accessing a considerable amount of information on energy consumption and cost, significant independent variables were selected by stepwise regression to analyze the main influencing factors of household energy consumption, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to research regional differences of energy application in six study regions. The results showed that energy consumption profiles in urban areas were similar, with no significant differences in main energies and cost between three study cities, whereas energy consumption profiles in rural areas were quite different. Different urban-rural energy divides were evident in different provinces. Wealthy areas tended to have a smaller urban-rural energy divide, whereas impoverished areas tended to have larger energy divide. Urban and wealthy rural residents tended to use commercial energies, which resulted in urban resident energy cost being significantly more than a rural resident in the same province, and particularly so in an impoverished province. These outcomes illustrate the different energy application profiles in representative areas and will help to develop appropriate energy policies.