Climatic impacts on electricity consumption of urban residential buildings in China

Evaluating the effects of climate change is crucial for developing effective strategies for both mitigation and adaptation policies. However, a comprehensive quantification of the precise effects of climate change on electricity consumption in China’s urban residential buildings has been hampered by the scarcity of data. Here, we employ a verified county-level unbalanced panel dataset to estimate the effect of cooling degree days (CDD) and heating degree days (HDD) on the electricity consumption of urban residential buildings in China. The results indicate that a 1% increase in CDD and HDD is linked to a corresponding rise of 0.114% and 0.457% in electricity consumption per unit of floor space in urban residential buildings, respectively. However, these effects are diminished as income increases, implying residents have more strategies to adapt to climate change as income rises. The impacts of temperature fluctuations exhibit variability across different climate zones, building heights, and construction years. Specifically, buildings in regions characterized by hot summers and cold winters, as well as those with hot summers and warm winters, exhibit greater sensitivity to temperature fluctuations compared to the buildings located in regions with severe cold and predominantly cold climates. Additionally, low-rise buildings tend to consume more electricity than multi-story and mid-to-high-rise buildings in response to temperature variation. Interestingly, new buildings are more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations than older buildings. These findings offer a comprehensive and accurate assessment of climatic impacts in different climate zones, enabling a more profound comprehension of climate change. This study provides empirical evidence that the effect of climate change on building energy use varies with building heights, addressing a critical gap in prior research.