Spatial-Temporal Social Analysis of Households Energy Consumption in Southern Denmark

The pattern of energy consumption and the share of energy produced in any society depend on various factors such as social conditions, population size, user behavior, cultural norms, employment, and level of education. For residential consumers, these patterns vary spatiotemporally, showing notable instantaneous and seasonal fluctuations. Analyzing the social impacts on energy production and consumption requires access to precise, geographically segmented data to define meaningful indicators that provide insight into the social conditions of a community through its electricity consumption and production. This paper presents a comprehensive spatiotemporal study examining the social factors influencing residential electricity consumption in southern Jutland (Sydjylland) in Denmark. It investigates household shares of energy consumption and renewable energy production, the effects of gender, youth population, employment rate, household dependents, education, and renewable energy self-sufficiency across seven urban areas in southern Denmark. Correlation analysis shows that although the short-term and seasonal behaviors across the seven regions align, neighboring regions do not exhibit significant relationships in terms of the introduced indicators. Furthermore, the consumption per capita in each region has a direct correlation with the employment ratio and an inverse relationship with youth rate and education levels, where an increase in individuals aged 15-25 decreases consumption, while a higher number of employed populations tends to grow energy consumption.