Qualitative Study on Electricity Consumption of Urban and Rural Households in Chiang Rai, Thailand, with a Focus on Ownership and Use of Air Conditioners

Aya Yoshida, Panate Manomivibool, Tomohiro Tasaki and Pattayaporn Unroj
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Aya Yoshida: National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 3058506, Japan
Panate Manomivibool: Circular Economy for Waste-free Thailand (CEWT) Research Center, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand
Tomohiro Tasaki: National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 3058506, Japan
Pattayaporn Unroj: Circular Economy for Waste-free Thailand (CEWT) Research Center, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: This study investigated the differences in household energy consumption between urban and rural households in northern Thailand, with a particular focus on air-conditioner ownership and use. In-depth visits to 32 households in Chiang Rai were undertaken in 2016 and 2017. The data collection covered six aspects: household attributes, ownership of electric appliances, use of air conditioners (ACs), intentions to conserve electricity, desire to purchase electric appliances in the future, and prospects for a future lifestyle. Traditional stilt houses can still be found in rural areas, but ACs have been introduced as rural houses have modernized. The typical period of AC use in rural areas was 2 to 4 months during summer. In urban households, ACs were used for a longer period, from 3 to 12 months each year. In addition, rural households usually used ACs for only a few hours each day before sleeping, whereas urban households often used them while they slept and some used them throughout the day. Households with children and grandchildren tended to use the AC for longer periods. These results suggest that promotion of environmentally friendly lifestyles for younger adults to control overuse of ACs would be key to reducing energy consumption in the future.

Keywords: air conditioning; energy consumption; lifestyle; sustainable consumption; climate change; modernization of housing; product replacement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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