Spatial location of activities and energy consumption of households in France

The design of policies and interventions aiming at the reduction of energy consumption requires a good understanding of the underlying social logics. In this perspective, this paper focuses on how the distribution of daily activities at home and away, in various locations, result into different levels of energy consumption in buildings and transportation. This analysis is based on an ad hoc survey of 2000 French households in late 2013. The questionnaire was focused on daily activities, mobility and energy consumption. This core information was complemented with questions about values, residential location and equipment choices. Additional information was collected regarding building types, appliances and socio-demographics. We also did a socio-spatial description of the geographical areas, based on several databases from the French statistical office (INSEE). Our initial analysis consists in clustering respondents based on their stated daily activities and values, in an attempt to qualify distinct lifestyles. Short- and long-term choices at the individual and household level were considered in this task. We then described how these lifestyles and how they deploy in space, imply the use of different types and levels of energy consumption.